Social Issues: Suicide

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Social Issues: Suicide
Suicide among teenagers continues to be high globally. Most people are not aware of its prevalence due to lack of reporting teenage suicide as a result of cultural barriers. It comes second cause of death among teenagers after road accidents in the whole world (World Health Organization 22). According to a survey conducted in 11 Europe countries, the chances that a person will commit suicide at teenage is 27.6% (Brunner et al. 37). Female teenagers are more prevalent to suicidal thoughts, but male teenagers are more likely to commit suicide because of their high susceptibility to lethal risk factors. Anxiety and transition pressures characterize the age of the teen. The period keeps many teens confused with feelings of loneliness from the social environment. The isolation leads to habits and actions which are risk factors to suicide. Prevention of death among teenagers is a challenge due to withdrawal behaviors they acquire once they have suicidal thoughts.

One of the factors which have made suicidal cases among teenagers high is the dominance of mental disorders. Most young people are likely to have anxiety and other psychiatric diseases whose one effect is suicide. Another suicidal risk factor among teenagers is the increase in abuse of alcohol and other drugs in the recent (Clifford et al. 2). Drugs among teenagers have become common. They interfere with normal brain functioning leading to suicidal thoughts and acts. Also increased introduction to stress in life and social denial has significantly contributed to teenager fatal cases.

Most young people have become more exposed to stress as a result of family violence and denial from peers. Frustrations from unfair competitions have led to heightened pressure among teenagers. The best way to offset the related stress teenagers are choosing has been committing suicide. Elevated aggression behaviors more so among teenage boys has also been a risk factor to death. Most of the mentioned risk factors interfere with mental health. The main factor which has contributed to increased suicidal cases is lack of mental health policies specific for teenagers.

Works Cited
Brunner, Romuald, et al. “Lifetime prevalence and psychosocial correlates of adolescent direct self‐injurious behavior: a comparative study of findings in 11 European countries.” Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 55.4 (2014): 337-348.
Clifford, Anton C., Christopher M. Doran, and Komla Tsey. “A systematic review of suicide prevention interventions targeting indigenous peoples in Australia, the United States, Canada, and New Zealand.” BMC public health 13.1 (2013): 463.
World Health Organization. Preventing suicide: a global imperative. World Health Organization, 2014.