Correlation Between Peer Influence And Teen Suicide
Abstract
While many people may think there is not really a significant correlation between peer influence and teen suicide, there is an actual growing rate of younger people ending their lives while actively participating in an educational facility. Due to the large amount of bullying and risky behavior in schools, this might actually contribute to teen suicides. However, does influence of peers push teenagers to prematurally die? Is risky behavior a factor in suicidal teens? There are many questions that need to be answered on whether peer influence contributes to teen suicide; so they will be answered in this essay. Suicide is a steadily increasing way of death in the world. With over 800,000 deaths, it is the 15th leading cause of death. Of course, suicide in adolescents also takes part in this data. It has found that suicide in adolescents mostly happens during the span of school age. The suicide rates for adolescents can also be simplified based on gender, race, and physical factors. In order to be able to understand this epidemic, we must first be able to understand what exactly this means and what suicide is.
Suicide in Teenagers
Suicide is when somebody intentionally takes their life in any way or form. This can also mean assisted suicide, where somebody intentionally gives another person the means to end their life. However, here we are only paying to regular suicide. Suicide can be broken down into categories of how the person died, the age of the person, the gender, and the physical appearence of the person. Based on the 2017 youth risk behavior survey, 7. 44% of youth in grades 9-12 reported at least one suicide attempt in the past 12 months. Female students attempted almost twice as often as male students (9. 3% vs. 5. 1%). Black students reported with a rate of attempts of 9. 8% and white students reported 6. 1%. However, this is about as accurate as possible due to the fact that not all students reported suicide attempts. Social and environmental risk factors include bullying, impaired parent-child relationship, living outside of the home (homelessness or in a corrections facility or group home), difficulties in school, social isolation, neither working nor attending school, and in the presence of stressful life events, such as legal or romantic difficulties or an argument with a parent. An unsupported social environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trangender adolescents, for example, increases risk of suicide attempts.
Bullying and Internet Usage
Bullying has been defined as having three parts: aggressive or deliberately harmful behavior (1) between peers that is (2) repeated and over time and (3) involves an imbalance of power, for example, related to physical strength or popularity, making it difficult for the victim to defend himself or herself. Behavior can fall into four categories: direct-physical (eg, assault, theft, any physical harm), direct-verbal (e. g. , threats, insults, name calling), indirect-relational (eg, social exclusion, spreading rumors), and cyberbullying. The 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Survey of students in grades 9 through 12 in the United States indicated that during the 12 months before the survey, 23. 7% of girl and 15. 6% of boys were bullied on school property, 21. 0% of girls and 8. 5% of boys did not go to school 1 day in the past because they felt unsafe at or to or from school. Reviewing 31 studies, Klomek et al found a clear relationship between both bullying victimization and perpetration and suicidal ideation and behavior in children and adolescents. Pathologic Internet use correlates with suicidal ideation and NSSI. Self-reported daily use of video games and Internet exceeding 5 hours was strongly associated with higher levels of depression and suicidality (ideation and attempts) in adolescents. A more specific problem is that adolescents with suicidal ideation may be at particular risk for searching the Internet for information about suicide-related topics. Suicide-related searches were found to be associated with completed suicides among young adults. Prosuicide Web sites and online suicide pacts facilitate suicidal behavior, with adolescents and young adults at particular risk (Shain, 2016). Internet usage can also lead to suicide in adolescents due to cyberbullying and other ways.
Conclusion
Based on the above data and facts, there is a positive correlation between peer influnce and adolescent suicide. There tends to be a higher rate of teen suicide due to peer influence such as bullying and other means. Since teen, mainly student, suicide is steadily growing, it is hopeful that means of stopping said epidemic are implicate
References
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Website. Available at: www. aacap. org. Accessed July 27, 2015 Brunstein Klomek A, Sourander A, Gould M. The association of suicide and bullying in childhood to young adulthood: a review of cross-sectional and longitudinal research findings. Can J Psychiatry. 2010;55(5):282–288pmid:20482954
- Dorger, S. (2019, February 26). The Leading Causes of Death in the World. Retrieved from https://www. thestreet. com/world/leading-causes-of-death-world-14869811 Hatzenbuehler ML. The social environment and suicide attempts in lesbian, gay, and bisexual. youth. Pediatrics. 2011;127(5):896–903pmid:21502225
- Kann L, Kinchen S, Shanklin SL, et al; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Youth risk behavior surveillance--United States, 2013. MMWR Suppl. 2014;63(4):1–168pmid:24918634 Suicide Statistics. (2019, April 16). Retrieved from https://afsp. org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/
