Teen Suicide – Draft Abstract

Suicidal behavior falls among the leading causes of deaths in the modern society (Flett, & Hewitt, 2013). According to a report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), teen suicide is the third most prominent cause of death among young adults, aged 15-24, with accidents and homicide being the leading two causes (Dickstein, e.t. al., 2015).Teen suicide has numerous negative effects on the teen’s family, friends, the community, and the entire nation. Once a teenager commits suicide, everyone who knew the teenager, and even the ones who did not, experience sadness and guilt since they feel that if they had done something differently they might have prevented the tragedy. However, this assumption is not always accurate since teen suicide is a relatively complex issue, which usually has complex triggers(Flett, & Hewitt, 2013).

The key issue I will try to uncover in my research study is how gender influences teen suicide. The hypothesis of this study is that teenage girls use less lethal methods of committing suicide as compared to teenage boys. From some of the studies conducted, it is clear that teen suicide rates are greatly influenced by factors such as gender, age, ethnicity, and lifestyle among others. Some studies suggest that teen girls contemplate suicide more often than teen boys(King, Foster &Rogalski, 2013). Although this may be the case, other studies and statistics suggest that even though teenage girls contemplate suicide more often, more teen boys tend to die from suicide (Flett, & Hewitt, 2013).

Understanding how and why teenagers commit suicide are essential aspects in reducing Teen suicide. This understanding helps one identify the root cause of the problem as well as the best way to support the teenager. ‘You are your sister’s keeper.’ It is thus the duty of every member of the community to ensure that teenagers get the assistance and support they needs to deal with everyday issues hence reducing teen suicide rate.

Scroll to Top