Facts about teen suicide: causes of teenage suicide

Teenage suicide is a sad event that affects the family members, friends, neighbors, and often a whole community. Upon such a tragic event, people often feel grief, confusion and guilt. There is a prevailing feeling among different members of society that this could be prevented if only they had done something differently. Teenage suicide is a complex matter, and different forces can lead teens to commit suicide. According to the official statistics, suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds. Girls are more prone to suicidal thinking, and they attempt to commit suicide about twice as often as boys do. However, boys die by suicide about four times as often girls. The crucial difference lies in the fact that girls usually attempt suicide by cutting themselves or trying to take too many pills. Boys, however, use methods that are more lethal: firearms, hanging or jumping from extreme heights.

According to the statistics, teenagers who have lost someone of influence or significance to them complete about 42% of all suicides among young people. Depression is the major factor affecting the teenager to take his or her life, often accompanied by feelings of despair and concern. Teenagers are in a very vulnerable stage of life where they often feel there is too much pressure that is too hard to cope with. Therefore, suicide becomes their way to escape the problems. Most frequent factors contributing to teen suicide are divorce of parents, domestic violence, low school grades, rejection by peers, substance abuse, dealing with homosexuality in an unsupportive family, death of a close person, and the suicide of a friend or an online pal.

Suicide is often committed after a stressful event in which a teenager experienced a major failure, or lost someone of importance. These extreme life situations usually involve failure at school or apparently unsolvable problems with in family. For some teenagers, a triggering event could be a breakup with a boyfriend or girlfriend, or a sudden death of a loved person.

Most teenagers who commit or attempt a suicide will give some kind of warning to the persons close to them. Monitoring the teenagers’ behavior and understanding the warning signs could actually save a teen's life. The major warning sign is when a young person talks a lot about death or suicide and has troubles concentrating or thinking clearly. Teenager can also talk about hopelessness and behave in a self-destructive way. A significant warning sign is also when a teenager loses the desire to take part in favorite activities and pull away from the family and friends.

Upon any of these symptoms, parents should seek the professional help and prevent the tragic event.