Teen Suicide : some protective factors

According to the World Health Organization, suicide is among the top five causes of mortality in the 15 to 19 year age group worldwide. In some countries, it ranks first or second as a cause of death among both boys and girls in this age group. Since this age group is normally attending high school in many countries, it is necessary for high school educators to set suicide prevention as a priority. A good way to start working on this problem is to discard a psychiatric disorder in the teenager with suicidal behavior. This is important due to the fact that over 90 percent of people who die by suicide have a mental illness at the time of their death. Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression for bullying or self image are among the most common mental illnesses causing teenagers suicide.  The best approach for schools to prevent suicide is teamwork that includes parents, teachers, school doctors, school nurses, school psychologists and school social workers. In any case, the successful way to cope suicide is to implement a school plan that covers three major student issues: family patterns, cognitive style and personality, and cultural and sociodemographic factors.

Family patterns are the way family members interact.  It refers also to the way they deal with daily matters like stress, illness and crisis. The healthier these relationships are the better protected is the teenager from suicide. If families nurture a supporting environment for teenage students’ problems, suicidal thinking is harder to come out. There are certain groups more at risk than others, for example, low income status; poor or deficient education and unemployment in the family are high risk factors. Indigenous people and immigrants may be assigned to this group since they often experience not only emotional and linguistic difficulties but also the lack of social networks. In many cases, these factors are combined with the psychological impact of legal status, poverty and isolation. Schools have to have good options for these students’ cases, and they have to implement an early detection phase to offer solutions.

Personality and cognitive style are related with the growth of good social skills like communication and friendship building. Although many of teenagers characteristics are considered normal, it is important to take a deeper look at them because they are also associated to the risk of suicide. Among these characteristics are unstable moods, angry or aggressive behavior, antisocial behavior, high impulsivity, irritability, poor problem solving ability when difficulties arise, a tendency to live in an illusory world, fantasies of greatness alternating with feelings of worthlessness, disappointment, anxiety, uncertainty concerning gender identity or sexual orientation. School staffs have to be prepared to attempt different solutions when these characteristics go too far. Another key aspect regarding personality is confidence, and it has to be part of any teenager life to produce confidence in him/her self and their situation and achievements. Many teenagers are naturally timid, but schools can do a great deal of improvement activities to surmount shyness. The third aspect about personality is the ability schools have to help students find help when they are in trouble or find advice when important choices must be made. Gaining teenagers trust is a difficult task, so high school staff should be able to work on an open doors policy that fosters trust and care. The last element to help avoid suicidal thinking is the ability of schools to facilitate student openness to other people’s experiences and solutions and to new knowledge.

Social integration through participation in all kind of activities like sports, church associations, and clubs and other such activities help student avoid suicidal thinking; also, good relationships with schoolmates, teachers and other adults, are some other healthy cultural and socio-demographic factors that can achieve the same objective. Other important factors in this field are the capability of students to stay away from alcohol and drug abuse, eating disorders, depression and negative life events.

Suicide is a very delicate issue in any high school, but it is unanimous among behavior experts that the solution is preventing it and not dealing with suicide itself. Psychologists recommend talking openly about it to students and having a clear and well organized suicide prevention program. There are many institutions that offer specific strategies that have proven to work in reducing the incidence of suicide; these references can be explored by schools in detail to reproduce or adapt what can work in their own context. However, no matter what strategies schools use, the key to have a successful program is team work which includes all staff members as well as parents and social institutions.