Teen Suicide: A Tragedy Too Common in US Teens - Essay Sample

Introduction

Teen suicide is the third cause of teen deaths in the United States after homicide and accident. It is typically a tragedy when a young person dies because he or she decided to take his/her own life. Family members are often devastated by the fact that they think they could have done something to prevent their loved ones from taking his/her own lives. Im et al. (284) assert that boy teens are thrice likely to succumb to suicide but four times less likely to take their lives than girls. It is believed that boys are more likely to die from suicide because they use more aggressive techniques to commit suicide, such as jumping from a building and using a gun, compared to girls, who are most likely to use less lethal techniques such as taking drugs (Im et al. 285). This paper argues that social and biological factors are the primary causes of teen suicide, which cause loss and pain to the family, friends, and society.

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Social Factors

Social elements, such as having a gun at home, can drastically increase teen suicide chances and have ranked one of the primary causes of the incident in the United States. Olufajo et al. (532) explain that 60% of teen suicide in the United States are committed using guns. Teens are highly suicidal, especially during the final teenage years; hence coming across a firearm can be dangerous. Olufajo et al. (533) explain that because of the high tendency of teens to take on their lives, parents/guardians should ensure that they keep guns far away from children or lock them away. Additionally, parents/guardians should ensure that they unload the gun before storing it to ensure that it is safe even when a child finds it. This way, teens and children with suicidal thoughts will not have the opportunity to use guns to take away their lives.

Moreover, exposure to drugs can lead to an increase in suicide rates among teens as they can overdose the medications to take away their lives. According to Im et al. (284), prescribed, un-prescribed, and over-the counter-drugs are a major cause of teen deaths in many countries. Many teens have committed suicide by overdosing on drugs, which overwhelm the body and shuts it down. Thus, Im et al. (285) warn that adults should take the responsibility of supervising teens closely with the medications to ensure that they are not exposed to a huge number of pills that they can swallow to take away their lives. Besides, the authors explain that parents/guardians should be aware of “drug exchange” exchange activities that normally take place in schools. Therefore, they should regularly inspect their children's bags to ensure that they do not carry excess pills to school or when leaving the house to prevent suicide cases among teens.

Biological/Physical Factors

Suicide rates among teens are also largely dependent on the gender orientation of individuals. Olufajo et al. (533) report that boys are thrice likely to succumb to suicide than girls but are less likely to commit suicide. Boys are more lily due to form suicide because they use lethal ways to take away their lives, such as using guns, hanging themselves, or jumping from a high place. On the other hand, young women are four times more probable to try killing themselves than boys but are less likely to die from it because they use less aggressive ways to kill themselves. Olufajo et al. (534) elaborate that girls often tend to use techniques that re less likely to take their lives than the ways that boys use, such as cutting themselves and overdose on drugs, which consequently results in the decreased mortality rates compared to their counterparts. This shows that gender is a significant risk factor when it comes to teen suicide.

Aside from gender, mental illness is another biological factor that has a significant impact on teen suicide. As per Im et al. (284), 90% of teens who have ever committed suicide have a mental issue in one way or another. Depression is of the leading health conditions that cause teen suicide rates in the United States. Im et al. (283) further add that teens experience many challenges situations that are not properly equipped to deal with. To begin, being a teenager is highly confusing because individuals do not know whether to carry themselves as children or adults. After all, the stage is in between these two extremes. Besides, being a teenager is challenging because these individuals are in a phase of whether they are trying to discover themselves, their sexuality and still want to be independent of other people, which at the age is nearly impossible. These conditions build up pressure, worsening when teenagers are under traumatic experiences such as losing their loved ones, divorce, or poor academic performance. Consequently, they become depressed, leading to suicidal thoughts.

Effects of Teen Suicide

Suicide among teens disturbing on friends, family and the entire society. Such incidences cause significant pain to family members and friends because they have lost their loved ones. Many of these individuals are left wondering whether they did their best to help the individual or if they were the cause of the incident in the first place. These individuals also feel the pain of witnessing the dreams and souls of young people dying helplessly (Im et al. 285). This pain is tremendous and profound, which may have adverse psychological impacts on the remaining family members and friends.

Furthermore, teen suicide is a loss to the family, friends, and society. The loss spans from both social and economic perspectives since the family and society will lose not only someone they love but also a potential breadwinner. The teens dying of suicide could potentially become important individuals in society if they had lived long enough to become adult and responsible citizens (Im et al. 286). Therefore, families and communities are deprived of both the social and economic benefits that they could have experienced for having young people among them.

Conclusion

Overall, teen suicide is caused by social and biological factors. Situations such as leaving a gun loaded or in the reach of children can potentially lead to high cases of suicide rates among teens because they are highly likely to use the weapon to kill themselves. The lack of care or supervision concerning teen medication can lead to boys and girls overdosing the drugs to take away their lives. Teens can also exchange valuables for medications such that they can use them to commit suicide. Biological risk factors such as gender and mental illness can also have a significant impact on depression. As discussed above, boys are more likely to succumb to suicide them girls, but the latter are more likely to attempt suicide than the former. Mental conditions, especially depression, can also drive a want to teen to commit suicide. The acts of suicide among teens have a devastating effect on friends, family, and society. When a young person commits suicide, friends, family, and the community are deprived of the social and economic benefits that would have witnessed due to the deceased.

Works Cited

Im, Yeojin, et al. “Risk Factors for Suicide Ideation Among Adolescents: Five-Year National Data Analysis.” Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, vol. 31, no. 3, 2017, pp. 282–286., doi:10.1016/j.apnu.2017.01.001.

Olufajo, Olubode A., et al. “Trends in Firearm Injuries Among Children and Teenagers in the United States.” Journal of Surgical Research, vol. 245, 2020, pp. 529–536., doi:10.1016/j.jss.2019.07.056.