Role of Family and Depression in Suicide Among Teens Paper Example

Introduction

According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is the third prevalent cause of death among teenagers aged between 15-24 years after accidents and homicides. Access to the firearms at home and overdose by use of the over-the-counter (prescription and non-prescription drugs) is also a common suicidal tool. CDC also reports that suicide rates differ between girls and boys with the girls thinking about suicide and attempting it twice as often as boys. Most of them tend to commit suicide or attempt by drug overdose or injuring themselves through cuts. However, Boys are more likely to die by suicide four times often than girls. CDC associate this to the use of lethal methods than girls.

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Problem Statement

This paper will address the lack of family support and depressions as the primary cause of suicide among teens.

Literature Review

Suicide cases are on the rise among teenagers. The well-being of the adolescent requires multiple interactions in which the adolescents are embedded. Cycles which have a significant influence on the teens include families, schools, friendships (romantic, peers, and broader social networks) according to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (NLSA). Suicides among teens are caused by either social isolation or social imbalance (Moody, 1999). Social isolations and imbalances among peers lead to low self-worth and self-confidence.

Lack of family support is one major independent variable for the cause of suicide attempts among teens (Moody, 1999). Adolescence is a stage where parent involvement can be very crucial because their children are experiencing changes they cannot comprehend in addition to peer pressure they might be exposed to at school, neighborhood, etc.

One dependent variable is depression which arises as a result of stress, isolation, and other social imbalances. Depressions make teens resort to drug abuse, and the development of suicidal thoughts (Jaycox et al., 2009).

According to NLSA, suicide among teens is caused by lack of family attention and depressions.

Design, measurement, and implementation

Designing an engaging guiding and counseling sessions in the schools will be helpful. Students will be examined randomly. Questions to be asked during face-to-face discussion shall include how they got into the college, the source of motivation, have they ever suffered from depression, do they get family support at homes, history of drug abuse, incidences of Psychological Stress Disorders (PSDs), etc. The questions will be life-centered with the aim of addressing warning signs and risk factors. After such sessions, diagnosis tests shall proceed. The tests shall be on depression indicators such as blood pressure, drugs, and substance abuse, etc.

After screening, the guiding and counseling group will be tasked with implementing effective strategies to ensure those who are not exposed to suicidal ideation don't get exposed while trying to address those are already exposed. One of the approaches is implementing flat communication between students and counselors. Medication for drug addicts will be recommended as well as putting stringent measures to ensure there is no drug trading in schools. There will be a recommendation for psychological counseling for teens with signs of depression. For teenagers who lack parental support, such parents will be called and summoned on the same.

Conclusion

Teenagers require close monitoring which would help to identify suicidal behaviors. Any utterance that can suggest suicidality need to be addressed by seeking counseling for such teenagers. This will lead to a reduction in suicide cases.

References

Jaycox, L., H., Steing, B., D., Paddock, S. and Miles, J., N. (2009). Impact of teen depression on academic, social, and physical functioning.

Moody, J. (1999). Teen Suicide on the Rise. Role of the Family.