Risk Factors

Risk Factors for Suicidal Behavior

In the USA, suicide “is the third leading cause of death among adolescents … [and] studies estimate that 3.5% to 7.5% of adolescents and young adults attempt suicide” (Hanson 869). It is important to recognize the numbers and research behind such statistics, so I found a study with the following goals:

1. Provide estimates of suicidal ideation and attempts
2. To investigate the relationships among adverse family environment, mental health diagnoses versus symptoms, and adolescent suicidal behavior
3. And to assess the independent impact of violence exposure on suicidal behavior (Hanson 871).

Participants ages 12-17 were interviewed over the phone in 1995, and were asked questions about:

• Family alcohol abuse
• Family drug use
• Violence exposure
• Lifetime PTSD
• Lifetime depression
• Suicidal ideation and attempts

The concluding numbers in this study are shocking. The study found the following (Hanson 873):

• 23.3% of the adolescents responded that they had suicidal ideation in the past
• Of that group, 13.2% made at least one suicide attempt
• 19% of attempts required medial treatment

Based on these findings, “estimates are that approximately 5.2 million adolescents in the United States have experienced suicidal ideation, and over 690,000 have attempted suicide” (Hanson 873). Percentage statistics do not adequately demonstrate the reality of how many young people consider suicide, but numbers such as “5.2 million” or “690,000” do. Hanson’s study suggests primary and secondary prevention strategies:

1. Primary Prevention Strategy: “As primary prevention of suicide behaviors, teaching adolescents alternative strategies for managing psychological distress may reduce the likelihood of relying on self-harming behaviors, such as substance abuse, to cope with their distress” (Hanson 877).
2. Secondary Prevention Strategy: “For secondary prevention, clinicians treating adolescents at risk for suicide may benefit from conducting a thorough assessment of the adolescents victimization history, violence-related symptoms, such as PTSD, substance abuse, and additional family environment factors that may increase their risk” (Hanson 877).

OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION

1. Development Questions
2. Demographics of Youth Suicide: Gender, Age,Geography, Socioeconomic Status
3. Risk Factors for Suicidal BehaviorYOU ARE HERE!
4. Warning Signs and Common Myths
5. Exposure to Peer Suicide – Grief
6. Suicide Risk Assessment: Change, Hope,Connection
7. Establishing aConnection: Empathy versus Sympathy
8. Suicide and SocialNetworking Sites
9. Frameworks: ACommunity Based Approach to Preventing Youth Suicide
10. Suicide Intervention and Prevention in Alberta
11. Works Cited