Teen Suicide Still a Leading Cause of Death: Know the Warning Signs

By Leslie Davis

In October, a Northern California town experienced the loss of its fourth high school student to suicide in six months. For reasons that remain unknown, all four Palo Alto teenagers had thrown themselves onto nearby train tracks.

As the town struggles to make sense of why an unconnected group of teenagers would want to commit suicide, news reports have reported on a number of suicide clusters in recent decades. Madeline Gould, a Columbia University psychiatrist, told the Associated Press that she found evidence of 50 suicide clusters in the U.S. between 1987 and 1996, which resulted in about 200 deaths.

Despite the notoriety of having groups of young people commit suicide within a short period of time, those clusters represented at most 2 percent of youth suicides during those years, Gould said. Suicide kills about 4,500 youth between the ages of 10 and 24 annually, and is the third leading cause of death for that age group, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Members of the 10-to-24 age demographic are most likely to commit suicide by firearm (46 percent), suffocation (39 percent) or poisoning (8 percent), according to the CDC.

More common than deaths by suicide are suicide attempts by young people. A CDC report of teenagers in grades 9 to 12 found that 15 percent of those youth seriously considered suicide, 11 percent created a suicide plan and 7 percent attempted suicide in the year prior to the report.

Each year, those attempts result in about 150,000 people between the ages of 10 and 24 needing medical attention for self-inflicted injuries, according to the CDC.

Risk Factors for Teen Suicide

Teen suicide is a very serious problem, and one that can be prevented if you know the risk factors. For instance, death by suicide is more common among males than females, but females are more likely to attempt suicide (or at least report it). On its website, the CDC lists several factors that put teens at risk for suicide:

• History of previous suicide attempts
• Family history of suicide
• History of depression or other mental illness
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Stressful life event or loss
• Easy access to lethal methods
• Exposure to the suicidal behavior of others
• Incarceration

The risk factors for suicide clusters aren’t really known. Researchers have speculated that the attention given to somebody who has committed suicide may provoke others to commit suicide. One or more suicides may also be seen as “permission” for others to do it. In Palo Alto, the media and authorities downplayed the suicides so that teens would not see the behavior as glamorized.

Suicide Warning Signs

Of course, not every teenager who may be at risk for suicide makes an attempt. But if a child is at risk for suicide based on the factors listed above, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline warns parents, caregivers and other concerned parties to keep an eye out for the following signs:

• A feeling of hopelessness
• Withdrawing from friends and family
• Talking about or threatening to hurt or kill oneself
• Looking for ways to kill oneself (for example, buying pills or obtaining weapons)
• Acting recklessly or engaging in risky activities
• Increased drug or alcohol use
• Talking or writing about death, dying or suicide
• Feeling anxious, agitated or unable to sleep, or sleeping more than usual
• Feeling rage or uncontrolled anger, or seeking revenge
• Seeing no reason for living or having no sense of purpose in life
• Experiencing dramatic mood changes

Many of these warning signs are also associated with teen depression. Though depression will not always result in a teens attempting suicide, it does put them at a higher risk. Depressed teens are more likely to think about or attempt suicide because of their feelings of hopelessness. Teen depression can also be characterized by desperation, pessimism, anxiety, withdrawal, sleep problems and a persistent bad mood.

Preventing Teen Suicide

Making yourself aware of the risk factors and warning signs for suicide is an important part of keeping your teen safe. Also important is getting your teen help for depression or other issues that may lead to thoughts of suicide.

If your teen is depressed, seek help immediately. Teen depression is treatable through the use of antidepressants and cognitive behavioral therapy, both of which can be provided through outpatient therapy or during a stay at an adolescent treatment center, a wilderness program or a youth ranch.

Troubled teens may also be more at risk for suicidal thoughts or attempts. If your teen is dealing with a substance abuse issue, violence or other troubling behaviors, you may want to consider a behavior modification school, teen boarding school or another type of school for troubled teens.