Teen Suicide
A mother finds her 17 year old teenage son hanging from the rafters of their basement. To hear of this occurrence is not rare in society today. Every 90 minutes a teenager in this country commits suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds. The National suicide rate has increased 78% between 1952 and 1992. The rate for 15-19 year olds rose from two per 100,000 to 12.9, more than 600 percent. (Special report, Killing the Pain, Rae Coulli) A 17 year old boy, Douglas Stewart, came home from school to find his mother lying on the sofa with a strained back. Being concerned for her he rubbed her back briefly then put on some easy listening music. Douglas then proceeded downstairs to his bedroom. Two of his friends came to the door. His mother waited to see if he would return to answer it; minutes later she answered and then yelled for him to come up. When he did not come, she went downstairs to get him. That is when she found him strangled and her son's body dangling from the ceiling. This is a senseless tragic sight for a mother to endure. The mortality rate from suicide in 1996 showed 9.5 per 100,000 for 15-19 year olds. This also shows boys are four times more likely to commit suicide then girls. However,
This is usually brought on by emotional reactions. Their deaths questioned the United Nations statement that Canada was the best place to live yet is now rated third-highest in teenage suicide. Without intervention , a failed suicide attempt may be followed by one that results in death. They may become burdened with death and complex feelings of guilt. Personality traits like aggression and hostility or feeling introverted or hopeless play a role in suicides. Douglas had a risk factor- a genetic component. " (Killing the Pain, Douglas Stewart)Is this an example of what Emile Durkhiem, a founder of sociology meant when he stated he felt suicide was not an individual act of desperation but a form of a psychological disorder that is strongly influenced by social forces called social solidarity? Suicide is an action; it is not an illness. Shame and Guilt are strong survival forces to deal with. Survivors may question themselves about suicidal feelings. A suicide survey was taken in 1997 by an Oregon High School. This may offer understanding and suggestions for coping. The survivors come from the same social economic and educational background. People are sometimes afraid to talk because they are afraid of how other people may react. "Menno Boldt, a sociologist at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta suggests that the right to die movement on behalf of the terminally ill patients may be sending the wrong message to teens.
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