Many teenagers feel overwhelmed after someone they know dies by suicide. This is especially true if the suicide happened unexpectedly. Some of these teenagers even believe that they caused their friend’s death.
Suicide prevention efforts need to focus on both risk factors and protective factors. This includes responsible media reporting, training gatekeepers to recognize warning signs, and promoting healthy family functioning.
Lack of social support
Many youth suicide victims lack social support. They may have been bullied, or they may be experiencing relationship conflict. The loss of a loved one or a major life event can also cause them to feel trapped and hopeless. In addition, they may have access to lethal means, such as firearms.
Moreover, they may be experiencing stressors such as academic pressure, excessive alcohol consumption, and frequent changes in residency. In some cases, these stressors are exacerbated by mental health issues, including depression and other mood disorders.
Fortunately, many of these risks can be reduced by implementing preventive strategies. These include establishing responsible media guidelines to minimize sensationalization of suicide, training gatekeepers, and providing support to youth at risk. These programs have shown positive results in reducing the rates of suicide among teens. Moreover, they can promote positive coping and help-seeking behaviors. They can also increase the number of people who can respond to a potential crisis.
Bullying
A major cause of suicide among youth is bullying, a pattern of aggressive behavior that can be physical, verbal or social. Bullying is most often seen in school settings and can have lasting effects. It can lead to depression, anxiety and even suicidal thoughts. It can also contribute to substance abuse and family violence.
While it is important to address the relationship between bullying and suicide, focusing too heavily on this connection may take attention away from other risk factors that are more likely to contribute to suicide. These risk factors include family problems, mental illness, and poor communication with parents. These issues can affect children of any age, but they are particularly common among middle schoolers, girls and those living in rural areas. In addition to counseling for victims, effective prevention strategies include implementing anti-bullying policies and training teachers on how to spot warning signs. Other interventions involve restorative justice approaches to lower victim isolation and equipping gatekeepers such as teachers with suicide screening assessments.
Mental illness
Many youth suicide victims have a history of major psychological or behavioral problems. They may also have a psychiatric condition, such as depression or schizophrenia. These conditions can lead to a loss of hope and feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. The resulting stress can cause them to seek self-destruction as a way of dealing with these feelings.
It is also common for teens to try to cope with their feelings by abusing drugs and alcohol. This often leads to a psychotic episode, such as hearing voices or having delusions, which can increase the risk of suicide.
Research has shown that the cause of suicide is complex and multifactorial. It can be triggered by a combination of personal, family and environmental factors. The best way to prevent suicide is to identify the risk factors and warning signs of suicide. This can be done by providing information about suicide prevention and limiting access to lethal means. In addition, people can learn how to talk about suicide with a loved one and get help when necessary.
Access to lethal means
As adolescence is a period of significant cognitive, emotional, and social change, many youths who take their own lives experience multiple risk factors. These factors include mental disorders, previous suicide attempts, specific personality characteristics, and triggering psychosocial stressors. Many youths have access to lethal means that can be used to kill themselves, including firearms and medications. Means restriction counseling changes the context of a suicide attempt by removing or restricting access to these items.
Pediatric health clinicians, adults working with youth in school and community settings, and families can play a critical role in helping to identify and support youth at risk for suicide. A comprehensive approach to youth suicide prevention, including a focus on equity and gatekeeper training, is needed to reduce rates of suicide in all communities. This bill would establish a grant program to provide training on lethal means safety and suicide prevention for healthcare professionals, and would create a centralized hub to disseminate information to at-risk youth and their family members.