Youth Suicide.pdf

Running head: YOUTH SUICIDE 1

Youth Suicide

Candace-Eunice V. Bernard

Liberty University

YOUTH SUICIDE

Abstract

There has been an increased awareness surrounding the issue of adolescent suicide within the

behavioral health community. Behavioral health providers have observed a steady increase in

suicide rates worldwide with in this population (Capuzzi, 2002). Definitive causes for the

increase in suicide rates have not been identified. However, researchers are gaining increased

awareness and understanding about the risk factors and ethical considerations surrounding

Keywords: suicide, adolescent, ethics, prevention, treatment

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Adolescent suicide rates have continually risen throughout the world and over the past 50

years. One study found that suicide rates in the United States increased 300% between 1950-

2000 (Capuzzi, 2002). In developed nations around the world, suicide is one of the top five

causes of adolescent death. It is the leading cause of death in teenagers in South Korea and the

third leading cause of death in American teenagers. (Chung & Joung, 2012). Behavioral health

providers are finding many challenges in reaching this population. Maheshwari and Joshi (2012)

identified that the majority of adolescents who carry out a suicide plan did not engage in any

form of behavioral health treatment prior to their attempt.

There are many external influencing factors that surround individuals throughout their

developmental years. Each of these factors contributes to the long-term outcomes of the

individual. Researchers have placed a great amount of time in examining the factors that predict

the long-term outcomes of an individual. These studies have shown that the first step in

addressing the rising suicide rates is for behavioral health providers to understanding risks

factors surrounding these issues. Understanding these factors allows behavioral health providers

discusses many of the struggles that high school students encounter, such as bullying, peer

pressure, drug use, parental relationships and academic expectations. The stressors impact every

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the students throughout these stressors. The school staff members struggle to address the needs

of the students, but often complain that they cannot identify which student is at risk for

worsening mental health symptoms or for self-harm (Lee & Lee, 2013).

In the center of all these struggles is a young man named Go Nam-soon. On the surface

Nam-soon appears to be a healthy, well adjusted adolescent. He comes to school every day. He

never fights with the teachers or with other students. Nam-soon’s only struggle appears to be in

the area of academics and socialization. He is not an academically strong student, nor is he part

of the popular peer group. Students in his class are drawn to him, but he doesn’t interact well

with others. He generally prefers to keep to himself, and tends to sleep through most of his

classes. His teachers struggle to get him to take his high school career seriously, but he does not

respond. The majority of the teachers see have given up hope on his academic progression and

ignore his behaviors (Lee & Lee, 2013).

Nam-soon’s life is much more complicated than it appears on the surface. Nam-soon’s

mother died when he was young, and his father struggled to cope with her death. His father used

of belonging. He became a successful gang member and had a reputation within his

neighborhood. He would bully other students and steal from stores. These antisocial behaviors

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Nam-soon gained a juvenile record and was placed on probation for a year. This caused him to

be a full year behind his classmates academically (Lee & Lee, 2013).

Nam-soon wants to become a better person. He expresses that his main desire is to be

better than his father, and make up for the mistakes of his past. This is a struggle for him

because he has a great deal of guilt about previous mistakes. He struggles with depression

because he fears that it is too late for him to fully change. Nam-soon also refuses to reach out for

help from others because he fears that he will be rejected, just as his father had rejected him. He

chooses to socially isolate rather than risk rejection. All of these thoughts have made Nam-soon

seriously consider taking his own life (Lee & Lee, 2013).

Legal and Ethical Issues

One of the greatest challenges surrounding adolescent suicide is the fact that there is no

definitive way to determine which adolescent will actually intend to take their own life (Duke &

Borowsky, 2009). Joiner and Ribeiro (2011) found that suicidal thoughts are relatively common

among teenage clients suffering from depression. Adolescents thought processes are very

client that verbalizes any form of suicidal thoughts is at rick. McWhirter, McWhirter, McWhirter

and McWhirter (2013) identified that all counselors are legally obligated to take action whenever

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thoughts a secret. Counselors should actively seek guidance from the multidisciplinary team on

how to effectively address any and all concerns.

This mandatory reporting process does place many ethical challenges on the counselor.

Clients enter into a relationship with a counselor expecting a degree of confidentiality.

Adolescents must have a clear understanding of the limited confidentiality surrounding

discussions on suicide and self-harm. Adolescents must understand that when they engage in

services with either a school counselor or a counselor in the commercial setting they will have

parents or other authorities notified when suicidal ideation is verbalize her suspected. This opens

communication creates ethical safeguards for the counselor (McWhirter et. al., 2013).

Individual Characteristics of High Risk Youth

Dugas, Low, Rodriguez, Contreras, Chaiton & O’Loughlin (2012) found that the

behavioral heath community has placed increase efforts on researching the similarities

surrounding adolescents who attempt suicide. This research has helped behavioral health

providers discover multiple risk factors that place an adolescent at risk for suicide. The first two

health diagnosis significantly increases the risk for a suicide attempt. Joiner and Ribeiro (2011)

noted that all of the great majority of adolescents who attempt suicide has a significant history of

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adolescents struggle with developing a healthy since of identity. Any type of dysfunction in the

adolescent’s self image can lead to increased isolation and feelings of decreased personal value.

These adolescents view themselves as a burden to society, and are more likely to have a distorted

view of the world and their personal future.

In the presented case analysis Nam-soon had many of the identified characteristics of a

high-risk youth. Nam-soon has already expressed feelings of depression and hopelessness. His

previous involvement in gang violence shows the possibility of deeper behavioral health issues.

One of the greatest individual risk facts that he has is poor sense of identity. He questions his

personal worth and the value his life brings to the world around him. Overall, Nam-soon

presents a very concerning image of a high-risk youth (Lee & Lee, 2013).

The family unit is one of the most important aspects of the adolescent growth and

development. Families create the foundation for how the adolescent will later view and interact

with the world (McWhirter et. al., 2013). Family dysfunction or any disruption in the family

significantly increase that individual’s risk for suicide. One of the greatest changes is through the

death of a parent. Parental death changes all aspects of an adolescent’s life. Often, great financial

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to Ratnarajah and Schofield (2008) parental death creates a great deal of strain on the

relationship of the surviving parent and child. Often the child has feelings of isolation and

abandonment as the surviving parent grieves.

In the presented case analysis Nam-soon has a very concerning family environment. His

family structure was disrupted with the death of his mother, and his father is an active alcoholic.

Nam-soon clearly struggles with feelings of abandonment in his father’s absence, and is isolated

from any family support system. Nam-soon’s family is also under a great deal of financial strain

due to his father’s unemployment. Nam-soon bears the additional stress of having to address the

financial needs of his family on his own (Lee & Lee, 2013).

School Issues That May Impact At-Risk Youth

lack of academic performance. Teachers would say that the focus of school is academic growth,

and teachers expressed frustration at wasting time on students who didn’t want to do the work.

Students became frustrated at Nam-soon because he didn’t’ want to socially interact with any of

choose to withdrawal academically rather than risk the embarrassment of continued failure. For

this reason, it is important for those working with adolescents to directly question the level of

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participation and school and their academic performance of the student, as these are both key

predictors of sucididality (Miller and Eckart, 2009).

The social focus of a child shifts and the child enters into adolescence. Within

adolescence the peer group begins to play a larger role. Peer clustering is the concept that

adolescents tend to group with individuals that have similar interests and motivations to their

own. The school environment is the primary location in which adolescents interact with their

peer cluster (McWhirter, et. al., 2013). Peer clustering is a very important part of the adolescent

experience. It provides youth with sense of belonging and contributes to the overall self-identity

of the teen. Dishion and Vernneau (2012) identified that peer clusters can be used to predict the

social, behavioral and emotional outcomes of the adolescent throughout the early adult years.

Positive peer clusters increase the adolescent’s ability to cope with stressors, and negative peer

clusters can increase the risk for suicide. A lack of a peer cluster can be a significant issue for

adolescents. Feelings of loneliness can create increased issues with self-identity or cause the

individual to have a distorted worldview. Loneliness has also been linked to feelings of

Baskin, W. T., Wampold, B. E., Quintana, S. M., Enright, R. D. (2010). Belongingness as a

protective factor against loneliness and potential depression in a multicultural