The Real Causes of Teen Suicide

Kyle Krahenbuhl
Doc Z
SLCC period 4
December 2, 2010

The Real Causes of Teen Suicide

    In our modern day society, being a teenager isn't that easy.  There are overwhelming academic pressure, athletics, and the ever changing social ladder.  All of these factors swirl together  to create beehives of stressed teenagers in our schools.  When bullying and other problems in the schools are thrown into the mix, things get out of control.  All of these issues are causing the suicide rate in our country too go up dramatically.  In 2007 suicide was the eleventh leading cause of death in the United States above Homicide and Parkinson’s disease(McIntosh).  Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people as well (McIntosh).  These statistics are scary and prove that this issue should not be ignored.  The question is, what is causing teen suicide today?  Bullying in our schools is usually the common answer to the question.  That outcasts are thrown aside and their only way out is to take their own life.  That constant torment and bullying from “the popular kids” is the reason so many teens are cutting their own life so short.  There might be many examples of this especially in the public eye, but I believe that bullying is not the main cause of suicide.  That other factors contribute to the huge suicide numbers in our country.  Even though bullying might be to blame for some suicide cases, depression and the pressures of high school and parents also lead to teen suicide.
    Suicide has been an issue in our country and our world for awhile and has been apart of history.  Suicidium comes from the Latin phase “self” and the verb “to kill”(Farberow).  It is said that the term suicide first appeared in Sir Thomas Browne’s “Religio Medici in 1642.  Suicide existed from the time of the Vikings and Egyptians all the way to present day and it has had a unique meaning in every different culture (Farberow). Suicide has come a long way and is especially effecting our young people in today’s society.  In 2007 every 2 hours and 1.6 minutes a young person killed themselves in the United States(McIntosh).  There was 3.6 deaths by suicide for males for every one death by suicide for females, but there are 3 female attempts for every one male attempt.  There was also 100-200 attempts for every death by suicide in 2007(McIntosh).  School shootings have also been linked to suicide in the high schools.  In Dave Cullen’s book Columbine he describes America’s attitudes on school shootings at the time of the Columbine disaster when he says “A terrifying affliction had infested America’s small towns and suburbs: the school shooter”(Cullen, 14).  School shootings only make up a little part of big teen suicide statistics.  These facts and statistics prove that teen suicide is an issue in the United States, but is bullying really contributing to the bulk of these stats?
    Bullying does cause suicide in our nation and there are plenty examples of it.  For example, a 17 year old student in Mentor, Ohio was tormented at his high school and was called names like “fag”, “queer”, and “homo” by his classmates(James, “Teen Commits Suicide Due to Bullying”).  The teachers did not step in on the problem even though they did know it was happening right infront of them(James, “Teen Commits Suicide Due to Bullying”).  This student committed suicide (James, “Teen Commits Suicide Due to Bullying”).  Gay bullying in particular has become an issue among students in our modern high schools, but it is not the only type of bullying that is leading to suicide.  In Massachusets, a 15 year old girl was bullied because she was too pretty(James,”Cyberbullying”).  She even had a relationship with the football quarterback as a freshman and other girls didn't like that so they put a target on her back(James,”Cyberbullying”).  They especially attacked her over social network sites like facebook and through text messages(James,”Cyberbullying” ).  She hanged herself (James,”Cyberbullying”).  Cyberbullying is another cause of suicide in the country.  These bullying stories are the most common suicide stories in the public.  The media likes to latch on these stories and for good reason, because bullying is a serious issue and really hits the publics’ heart hard.  This media blitz on bullying might convince the public that bullying is really the true cause of suicide among teens and other causes are insufficient.  I do agree that bullying is a issue in our current school system and needs to be studied closer.  I believe that bullying is indeed a cause of teen suicide but I also believe that other causes of teen suicide might need a little bit more attention, like depression.  

Depression and other mental illnesses are a cause of suicide and probably is the biggest issue when it comes to suicide.  “Over 90 percent of people who die by suicide have a mental illness at the time of their death.  And the most common mental illness is depression”(Carcuso).  the truth is, untreated depression is the leading cause for suicide in our country(Carcuso).  This depression is usually caused from a negative life experience like the death of a loved one or a break up in a relationship(Carcuso).  Other mental illnesses like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia can also lead to suicide(Carcuso). Depression is a treatable illness(Carcuso).  Mental health screenings are starting to become a new thing in current high schools, but they are not being used everywhere.  Richard Friedman states in his article “Uncovering an Epidemic — Screening for Mental Illness in Teens”, that these screening can trace depression in teens and give them treatment that they need(Friedman).  Without the tracking down depression, it can go untreated “leaving them vulnerable to emotional, social, and academic impairments during a critical phase of their lives”(Friedman).  Bullying might cause suicide, but mental illness is the top reason, but it can work together with bullying.  It is shocking to see that over 90 percent of suicide cases suffered from a mental illness, but it does make sense.  It shows that you can usually sense if someone is getting into that depression mode even though sometimes it is untraceable.  Another surprising part of depression is that it is treatable and untreatable depression is what is causing the most suicides.  I feel that depression deserves more attention especially if it is causing so much deaths in our country.  I mean it seems like a problem that wouldn't be to hard to be solved.  Making teens feel comfortable with admitting that they are experiencing depression symptoms is the first step.  Making them realize the consequences of suicide and talking to them can also help.  Bullying might get the publicity but depression and mental illness cold hard truth on the main cause for teen suicide in the united states.  Depression mixed with the pressures on a teenager can increase the chance of suicide.

    The pressures of high school and from parents can drive a teenager over the edge.  On ESPN’s show E:60 there is a story called “Survivor”.  It describes the story of Jordan Burnham and his suicide attempt.  Jordan was living the perfect high school life(Survivor).  He was the class president as well as a star on the baseball and golf team(Survivor).  He was living the perfect high school live according to TV shows and movies(Survivor).  The problem was the pressures kept piling up on this young man and he also started to suffer from depression(Survivor)..  His grades started to drop for the first time in his academic career and everything started to pile up(Survivor).  One day when Jordan came home from school his parents showed him a bag of alcohol that was his(Survivor)..  He was ashamed and barricaded himself in his room and jumped out of a 9 story window(Survivor).  He survived the fall but not without loosing most of his physical attributes(Survivor).  In the movie “Dead Poets Society” Directed by Peter Weir one of the main character's named Neil also seems like he has everything(Weir).  He is on the path to Harvard and is a very positive character(Weir).  His true love is acting though, but his father doesn't approve of his hobby(Weir).  Neil goes against orders and preforms in the play only for his father to tell him he is signed up for military for the next morning(Weir).  That night Neil shoots himself(Weir).  Pressures from parents and school life can cause suicide easily as much as bullying.  I think one of the big factors is that teenagers are not used to facing tough situations and adversity as much as older folks that have experience.  When one bad thing happens a teenager treats it like its the end of the world and doesn't think the situation through that can eventually lead to suicide. In the case of Neil from “Dead Poets Society” the parents were the reason he went on to kill himself.  The overwhelming pressure parents put on their children to succeed make teens feel like if they do one thing wrong their world is over.  Bullying is not as big of an issue as these pressures and I feel like these pressures can be treated easier then most things.  

Teen suicide is indeed a national issue for the United States, but people seem to not focus on what exactly is causing it.  “Bullying” might be the first thing that rushes into our heads because we get drilled with more and more stories everyday about how another teen committed suicide because he was picked on by others.  Even though it is the first thing we think of, it is not the case, teen suicide is mainly caused by depression and pressures from the surrounding have a bigger impact then one might think.  Teen suicide is a problem, but we wrongly perceive that most cases have to do with bullying when we should borrow some of that attention towards bullying and put it towards depression and the pressures on a teenage lifestyle.

Works Cited

Carcuso, Kevin. "Suicide Causes." Suicide.org. 2010. 02 Dec. 2010 <http://www.suicide.org/suicide-causes.html>.

Cullen, David. Columbine. New York: Twelve, 2009

Dead Poets Society. Dir. Peter Weir. Perf. Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke.   Touchstone, 1989.

Donaldson James, Susan. "Cyberbullying Likely Factor in Suicide of Massachusetts Teenage     Irish Immigrant." ABCNews.com. 26 Jan. 2010. 04 Nov. 2010                 <http://abcnews.go.com/Health/cyber-bullying-factor-suicide-massachusetts-teen-irish-immigrant/story?id=9660938>.

Donaldson James, Susan. "Teen Commits Suicide Due to Bullying: Parents Sue School for Son's Death." ABCNews.com. 2 Apr. 2009. 04 Nov. 2010 <http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=7228335>

Farberow, Norman L. "Suicide Basics- History, Prevention, Warning signs." Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. 16 Nov. 2010. 02 Dec. 2010 <http://www.deathreference.com/Sh-Sy/Suicide-Basics.html>.

Friedman, Richard A. Uncovering an Epidemic — Screening for Mental Illness in Teens. The New England Journal of Medicine. 28 Dec. 2006. 30 Nov. 2010 <http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp068262>

McIntosh, J. L. (for the American Association of Suicidology).(2010). U.S.A suicide 2007: Official final data. Washington, DC: American Association of Suicidology, dated May 23, 2010, downloaded from http://www.suicidology.org.

Survivor - ESPN Video - ESPN. Perf. Jordan Burnham. ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports. 27 Oct. 2010. 18 Nov. 2010 <http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5732813&categoryid=3060647>.