Adolescent Suicide Risk: Four Psychosocial Factors Essay (Critical Writing)

There are a number of useful facts that I was able to derive from this study about “Adolescent suicide risk: four psychosocial factors” conducted by Philip A. Rutter and Andrew E. Behrendt.

First, I was shocked to know that suicide is among the leading cause of death for teenagers or adolescents. I never realize that people of such a young age group would be willing to subject themselves to such an extent of ending their own lives. But, as the study shows, it really happens. A number of reports presented by the Centers for Disease Control show that since the late 1990’s up to the present, adolescent suicide is so rampant all over the world that it has taken the attention of many psychologists and social workers. ¹

What I also learned from this article/study is the fact that there are many underlying factors why a teenager would commit suicide. Some of the factors may include depression. Depression or depressive disorder is an illness that involves the body, the emotion, and the thoughts. It comes in various forms, just as is the case with other illnesses such as heart disease². The first of these forms is what we now call the major depression.

This is noticeable because of a combination of symptoms that interfere with the ability to work, study, sleep, eat, and enjoy once pleasurable activities. The second form of depression and the one that is believed to be the less severe type of depression is called “dysthymia”. This one involves long-term, chronic symptoms that do not disable but keep one from functioning well or from feeling good. Many people with dysthymia also experience major depressive episodes at some time in their lives. Another type of depression is bipolar disorder, also called manic-depressive illness. Bipolar disorder is characterized by cycling mood changes: severe highs (mania) and lows (depression)³

Another factor that could contribute to adolescents’ tendency to commit suicide is anxiety disorders which are the illnesses that fill adolescent’s lives with overwhelming anxiety and fear that are chronic, unremitting, and can grow progressively worse. Some people with anxiety disorders even become housebound especially when they feel besieged by panic attacks, obsessive thoughts, flashbacks of traumatic events, nightmares, or countless frightening physical symptoms. ⁴

Different kinds of anxiety disorders are that can lead to suicidal attempts are

• Panic Disorder is the manifestation of repeated episodes of intense fear that strike often and without warning. Physical symptoms include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, abdominal distress, feelings of unreality, and fear of dying. ⁵
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, which is then repeated, unwanted thoughts or compulsive behaviors that seem impossible to stop or control⁶
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Teenagers with this form of anxiety are often those who have unfortunately experienced witnessed a traumatic event such as rape or other criminal assault, war, child abuse, natural or human-caused disasters, or crashes. Nightmares, flashbacks, numbing of emotions, depression, and feeling angry, irritable or distracted, and being easily startled are common. ⁷
• Phobias. Two major types of phobias are social phobia and specific phobia. Social phobia happens to people with an overwhelming and disabling fear of scrutiny, embarrassment, or humiliation in social situations, which leads to avoidance of many potentially pleasurable and meaningful activities. Specific phobia, on the other hand, are the manifestations of people who experience extreme, disabling, and irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger; the fear leads to avoidance of objects or situations and can cause people to limit their lives unnecessarily⁸
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This actually happens to an adolescent with constant, exaggerated worrisome thoughts and tension about everyday routine life events and activities, lasting at least six months. Almost always anticipating the worst even though there is little reason to expect it; accompanied by physical symptoms, such as fatigue, trembling, muscle tension, headache, or nausea.⁹

Aside from the disorders that adolescents normally experience that may lead to their suicidal attempts, it is also worth noting that media plays a vital role in the teenager’s line of thoughts. Because media has really become indispensable, many youths are also very engrossed in using it. In schools, libraries, and even at home, adolescents are increasingly becoming involved in various prominent media. In fact, there are series of surveys done which proved that almost 78% of family households with young viewers have media access at home accessing it in an average of 16.7 hours per week. With this, it can be strongly inferred that the types of media present today have a very big potential to affect children’s minds¹⁰

Because of the media’s powerful capabilities, it is found to be able of exposing youths to lots of negative content. Because of the abundance of information available in the various types of media, teenagers can have easy access to negative aspects that may include violence, pornography, hatred sites, isolation, predators, and even suicidal behaviors¹¹. Without purposely getting access, teenagers may have contact media, which are not supposed to be seen by them.

This is because, sites that contain hatred, isolated and commercialized ones pop up without even being keyed. Youths have the wildest imagination. At the same time, they are very vulnerable and can be easily encouraged to do things that youths should not be doing. With the available information in all types of media and the information full of hate, isolation, and commercialization, youths are being exposed to and are actually being commercialized and used as another target market of information that is not supposed to be for them.

Because of the above-stated information which I all gathered from this study, I was able to realize that I, as a self-confessed social worker, can really help a lot to minimize the risks of adolescents in my area committing suicide. I now know that social workers like me and other members of the non-government organizations (NGOs’s assist the government in uplifting the lives of the adolescents, hence the government can really work hand-in-hand with us and/or vice versa.

I am now more encouraged to initiate various activities, especially in highly youth-populated areas so that they may be given venues to enhance their skills in sports and to prevent them from going into abusive drugs and/or crimes.

Indeed, there are lots of venues and activities that can be done so as to improve the welfare of the youths – activities which a social worker like me can establish. It is a very good thing that I was exposed to this article/review because I am now more committed to working for and with the youths. It is reiterated in my mind that I with the position I am in right now, I can somehow help to initiate change and that I can help direct more people, more youths, to lead a more positive life.

References:

Beck, A., Brown, G., & Steer, R. (1989). Prediction of eventual suicide in psychiatric inpatients by clinical ratings of hopelessness. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 309-310.

Brent, D. A., Baugher, M., & Bridge, J. (1999). Age- and sex-related risk factors for adolescent suicide. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(12), 1497-1505.

Centers for Disease Control. (2002). Health, United States, Table 60. Web.

Choquet, M., Kovess, V., & Poutignat, N. (1993). Suicidal thoughts among adolescents: An intercultural approach. Adolescence, 28(111), 649-659.

Dori, G. A., & Overholser, J. C. (1999). Depression, hopelessness, and self-esteem: Accounting for suicidality in adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Suicide & Life Threatening Behavior, 29, 309-318.

Levy, S., Jurkovic, G., & Spirito, A. (1995). A multi-systems analysis of adolescent suicide attempters. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 23, 221-234.

Footnotes

1. CDC, 2002.
2. Beck, et. al., 1989.
3. Beck, et. al., 1989.
4. Brent, at. Al., 1999.
5. Choquet, et. al., 1993.
6. Beck, et. al., 1989.
7. Dori and Overholser, 1999.
8. Choquet, et. al., 1993.
9. Brent, at. Al., 1999.
10. Levy, Jurkovic and Spirito, 1995.
11. Levy, Jurkovic and Spirito, 1995.