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Why Do Youth Commit Suicide?
While there are no definitive answers for why adolescents
attempt and complete suicide, there is general agreement that youth
who take their own lives feel hopeless about their situation and
believe it will never change. Suicide seems to be a response to
seemingly intolerable pain. It appears a complex set of factors
interact with the youth's biological, emotional, intellectual and
social stages of development. Some factors which contribute to
suicide are listed below:
Biological
Depression due to chemical imbalance; physical illness; physical
disability; learning disability; chemical changes during puberty;
or, physical dependency on drugs or alcohol.
Emotional
Sadness; stress; impulsive behavior; a sense of powerlessness;
loss, grief; loneliness; low self- esteem; anger or rage; guilt;
hopelessness; a sense of being overwhelmed; anxiety; confusion
about sexual identity/orientation; emotional dependency on chemical
substances.
Intellectual
Inability to communicate feelings; perfectionism; pressure to
achieve or perform; self- criticism; unrealistic view of death;
revenge; exaggeration of faults.
Social
Isolation; withdrawal; friendlessness; lack of social skills;
unpopularity; feelings of not belonging; embarrassment before
peers; labeled as "crazy," "stupid," or "different;" in trouble at
home; school or with the law; a runaway.
(Suicidal Process information taken from an article entitled,
"Educated Suicide Prevention," by Iris M. Bolton, published in
School Safety, Spring 1986.)
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