Troubling
Data on Youth Suicide
In
her New York Times Personal Health
column, Jane Brody cites statistics on the increase in suicides and suicide
attempts among young people. From 2007 to 2017, the suicide rate among 10-to-24-year-olds
increased by 56 percent, making it the second-leading cause of death in this
age group (after accidents). Suicide attempts have quadrupled over the last six
years, a statistic that is probably an undercount. “We’re in the middle of a
full-blown mental health crisis for adolescents and young adults,” says
psychologist/author Jean Twenge (San Diego State University). “The evidence is
strong and consistent both for symptoms and behavior.”
Because of the shame generally
associated with suicide, families often shroud the issue in secrecy, and there
isn’t the kind of national mobilization that would normally accompany this kind
of data spike. “We invest heavily in crisis care,”
says John Ackerman, a suicide prevention expert at Nationwide Children’s
Hospital in Ohio, “which is the most expensive and least effective means of
preventing suicide.” The key, he says, is identifying vulnerable youth
as early as elementary school, helping them cope with stress, and teaching them
what to do if they have a crisis. This can be as simple as regularly checking
in on young people’s emotional status. “It’s not putting ideas in their heads
to ask directly whether they’ve had thoughts of suicide or dying,” says
Ackerman. “That doesn’t increase their risk. Rather, it’s relieving. You
actually reduce the risk if you help kids talk through these difficult issues.”
What is causing the increase
in suicidal ideation, attempts, and deaths? Experts point to several factors:
• Social media and communication patterns – “Kids never disconnect,” says
Henry Spiller, director of the Central Ohio Poison Center. “They go to bed with
their smartphones. It may be cyberbullying. It may be envy.” Twenge agrees:
“There’s less face-to-face time spent with friends. It’s now the norm to sit
home Saturday night on Instagram. Who’s popular and who’s not is now
quantifiable by how many people are following you… There’s a lot of negativity,
competition, and jockeying for status…”
• School-based interactions – Suicide data for young people track the
academic year – September to December, January to May – which is not true of
adults. This suggests that negative social interactions in and around school
are the areas that educators, families, and health care professionals have to monitor.
• Sleep – Teens’ quantity and quality of sleep can affected by going
to bed late and night-time social media activity. “The brain can’t slow down
and relax,” says Twenge. Kids shouldn’t look at the blue light of their devices
less than an hour before bedtime. Parents can set limits, such as setting their
kids’ phones to shut down at 9: 00 p.m.
• Information and means – Kids with smartphones have unfiltered
access to Internet sites that tell them how to harm themselves. And some homes
give young people unguarded access to firearms and potentially lethal medications
and other substances.
• Sometimes a perfect storm – School, social, and family problems can
converge to create a crisis. “Ultimately,” says Ackerman, “it’s a combination
of economic, social, and technological factors that come together along with family
and school issues, and kids are less equipped to tackle these problems.”
“Time to Sound the
Alarm Over Youth Suicide” by Jane Brody in The
New York Times, December 3, 2019, https://nyti.ms/2Po5dCF
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