Suicide Amongst Youth and Adolescents

Abstract or Introduction

This essay summarises the reasons for suicide among children and young adults as well as information articles on how to support persons who attempted suicide.

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Suicide is a serious public health problem that affects even young people. The CDC goes on to state that Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 10 and 24 years of age, which results in approximately 4600 lives lost each year.

Even with the problematic issue of lives lost, suicide is only one part of the problem; the other half of the problem is suicide attempts. Results from a nationwide survey of youth in grades 9-12 in public and private schooling in the United States found that 16% of students reported seriously considering suicide, 13% reported creating a plan, and 8% reported trying to take their own life in the 12 months preceding the survey. Each year, approximately 157,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 24 receive medical care for self-inflicted injuries at Emergency Departments across the United States.