"Suicide is the third leading cause of deaths among people 15 to 24..." (16) Although lately the rate of suicide is beginning to level off, it has tripled since the 1950's. The suicide rate varies with gender, race, sexuality, and environment. Males commit suicide four times more than females, yet females attempt suicide four times more than males. Concerning race, "Statistics state that white males and females make up almost half of the suicides in the US, which is more than any other race."(2) Homosexuals commit 30 percent of all suicides in the United States. Some one who commits suicide can have a deceiving environment. Most people believe teens that come from a poor home life would have the higher suicide rate, but research shows teens that come from wealthy homes and prestigious neighborhoods are more apt to commit suicide. Keep in mind that suicide among other races and environments do occur, just not as often as those stated above.
             The popular belief of why this increase in suicide among teens is the pressures put on teens today that did not exist in the 1950's. Teens are forced to juggle pressures on sex, school, huge expectations, and society's opinion. Many teens feel that they are on the outside looking in when it comes to sex. They are torn between what society and communities think is right and what television, advertisements and radio tell them is right. School is also a great pressure for teens, especially for those who don't do so well in academics. Society plays a big role in homosexual suicides. Homosexual teens use suicide as an escape from the constant disgust from what society thinks is proper and from what they feel is proper for them. As for expectations, the world in general has many expectations on the new generations. Some expect that the upcoming adults will be the destruction of all they have worked for, yet others put it on the new generations'...