Suicide in Adolescents Essay

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Suicide in Adolescents

Adolescents comprise an especially vulnerable group as far as suicide is concerned. This paper discusses a number of aspects relating to suicide in adolescents. Following a definition of the concept of suicide, attention is paid to the risk factor, contributing factors, prevalence of the risk, the role of healthcare practitioners in addressing the issue, ways of identifying and addressing the problem, as well as help and support resources.

Definition

Suicide is essentially defined as the deliberate or intentional termination of one’s life (Capuzzi & Golden, 2013). An individual causes their own death using drugs, poisonous substances, and firearms. Suicide can also be committed through hanging, suffocation, and falling (Shain & AAP Committee on Adolescence, 2016). It should be noted that self-injury and assisted suicide are not forms of suicide (Capuzzi & Golden, 2013).

Overview of the Risk Factor

Suicide is a major risk factor for death among adolescents. In the course of growing up, adolescents experience circumstances that may predispose them to suicidal ideation (Capuzzi & Golden, 2013). Events such as parental divorce and abandonment can be stressful and confusing for teenagers, eventually leading to suicide (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry [AACAP], 2013). For some teenagers, suicide is viewed as a permanent solution for stress and difficult life situations.

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Addressing suicide in teenagers is important given the role of young people in the society.

Contributing Factors

Teenage suicide can be predicted by several factors. One of the major factors relates to family difficulties (AACAP, 2013). The umbrella of family difficulties carries many aspects, including conflicts with parents, denial of privileges by parents, parental divorce or separation, financial problems, as well as death of family members. Such events can be overwhelming for teenagers, ultimately resulting in suicide. Other contributing factors include bullying (offline and online), sexual assault, social isolation, mental disorder (e.g. posttraumatic disorder), substance abuse, chronic medical conditions (e.g. HIV), socioeconomic background (e.g. racial background), family history of suicide, as well as media pressure (Shain & AAP Committee on Adolescence, 2016).

Prevalence of the Risk

According to AACAP, suicide among adolescents remains a major concern. Statistics indicate that thousands of adolescents commit suicide every year, with suicide being ranked as the third top cause of death in people aged 15 to 24 years (AACAP, 2013). In 2013 alone, 1,748 suicides were recorded among 15-19-year-olds (Shain & AAP Committee on Adolescence, 2016). The figure could be much higher given that….....

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