Introduction
Suicide among the teenagers aged 14-18 years within New Jersey is an issue that has raised concern among the stakeholders. These teenagers would commit suicide because of trauma that is beyond their capacity to control. Some of them are emotionally immature, and believe that the shortest way of finding a solution is to terminate their own lives.
Others also commit suicide as a way of punishing their loved ones because of something they did or failed to do. Irrespective of the possible cause of suicide, it is important to find a solution to this issue in order to reduce the rate at which these minors are taking their own lives (Dolgin and Rice 45). Although the statistics show that there has been a considerable reduction in the number of the reported cases of suicide, the current rates are still worrying. In this study, the researcher seeks to analyze the statistics about suicide among the teenagers who are between 14-18 years.
Discussion
The number of teenagers, committing suicide has been reducing consistently since 1994 (Guild 33). This reduction has been attributed to a number of factors, including the use of antidepressants, a highly social environment, and easily accessible counselors. The figure below shows the rates of adolescent suicide New Jersey as compared to other states in this country.
Figure 1: Suicide Rates in New Jersey as Compared to Other States
Source: (Guild 62)
It is important to understand some of the reasons why adolescents would consider taking their own lives. This can be explained using the Cognitive Theory. As Guild (55) notes, this theory explains the mechanics of the mind during the learning process. When the adolescents are exposed to a given stressor, they tend to absorb it with emotions.
Depending on the people around the affected adolescents and the amount of stressors, the adolescents may not be able to handle the pressure. In such cases, this theory explains that the adolescent will want to vent the anger physically. This explains why many youths are very destructive.
When the anger cannot be vented on people and objects around the person that is when the adolescent will consider venting the anger on him or herself. However, they are always aware of the possible consequences of their actions. For this reason, they go to the extreme and take their own lives so that they do not live with the pain. Some commit suicide because they feel frustrated and at such moments, life becomes meaningless to them.
According to the statistics by Guild (63), homicide is very prevalent among the adolescents in New Jersey. The following chart shows the rate of prevalence of homicide as per different age groups and gender.
Figure 2: Homicide Rates among People of Different Groups in New Jersey
Source: (Guild 24)
Suicide and homicide are some of the leading causes of death among the youths of this country. Both have the same pattern explained above which involves emotional instability. As explained in the theory above, when these youths get emotional, they will first try to cause harm to others.
That explains why homicide has a higher percentage than suicide. When they lack options, then they will consider killing themselves. Despite the efforts made by various stakeholders, this issue has not been addressed appropriately. The teenagers aged 14-18 still form a substantial percentage in this grim statistics.
Inasmuch as statistics shows that suicide is more common among adults, it is still worrying that this country is losing over four thousand youths because of suicide. It demonstrates that there is a need to act now in order to end this negative trend. This will need a concerted effort of all the concerned stakeholders within this society. According to the statistics from Blake (54), teenagers in New Jersey are very vulnerable to psychological stress, which is the major reason for committing suicide. The graph below breaks down this statistics.
Figure 3: Suicide Cases in New Jersey
Source: (Blake 34)
From the statistics, it comes out that the most common form of suicide in New Jersey is by hanging or suffocation. Teenagers prefer them because of the speed with which they take one’s life. In fact, these are the traditional ways of committing suicide. The use of firearm is also gaining pace.
With illegal firearms finding their way to the hands of these teenagers, they consider using them because of the instant results. Poisoning has also remained another common alternative when these youths consider taking their lives. They take the poison alongside their meals or take it directly. Other cases include drowning, use of sharp objects, jumping onto a moving car, fire, and planned accidents.
Conclusion
The statistics presented above show that suicide is still an issue that need to be addressed in New Jersey. Many youths aged 14-18 are losing their lives because of reasons that can be addressed through counseling and support. All the stakeholders should work together to find a lasting solution to this problem.
Works Cited
Blake, Allison. “Updated 2012 Adolescent Suicide Report: A Data Overview and Prevention Activities Report on Youth Suicide in New Jersey.” The American Journal of Psychology, 46.1 (2012): 1-29. Print.
Dolgin, Kim G, and F P. Rice. The Adolescent: Development, Relationships, and Culture. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2011. Print.
Guild, Priscilla. “Best Practices for Preventing Adolescent Suicide: What Can We Learn from New Jersey?” Psychological Science, 11.4 (2008): 22-56. Print.