Things in a young person’s life that enhance the probability (or danger) that they act on suicide thoughts are known as risk factors. When it comes to warning signals, such as abrupt changes in behavior, young people’s difficulties throughout time are frequently more immediate. Suicide risk increases with the number of challenges a young person has in their life.
Depression is one of the most well-known risk factors.
Even if a young person is exposed to risk factors, this does not guarantee that they would contemplate suicide or make an attempt. Strong family ties and connections also assist in balancing out harsh or unpleasant life situations, and we all have various methods of dealing with them.
Suicide Risk Factors in Adolescents
The age limits used to define youth are arbitrary and change from nation to country and over time. It’s challenging to locate cases of suicide among children under the age of five. The majority of research on teenage suicide (including this short review) focuses on children (7–12 years old) and adolescents (13–20 years old). These children and adolescents are predisposed to mental health issues, particularly during the formative years of childhood.
Moving, changing, and transitioning from one state to the next define this stage of life in many areas at once. School, housing arrangements, social groups, and other critical tangible paths in life must be decided by young people. Their identity, self-esteem, independence, and responsibility will all grow due to these new responsibilities. They will also have to face further difficulties in their relationships. While this is going on, they are dealing with their own ever-changing psychological and physical conditions.
Unrealistic Demands
On top of that, they’re often subjected to unrealistic demands from parents, teachers, and other influential adults in their lives. A feeling of helplessness, uncertainty, and worry are all natural reactions to these kinds of circumstances. Young people must have access to substantial supportive resources, such as a secure living environment, close connections, a structural framework, and economic resources, to meet these difficulties and effectively deal with these feelings.
It’s possible to consider risks as variables that weaken or obstruct support or access to resources, even drugs, too. In which case, before we even have to conceive suicide, we have to contemplate the struggles of addiction and the options for breha. At the same time, protective factors reinforce and safeguard those resources or function as a safety net against potential dangers.
Why It Happens
Suicide, according to popular belief, has several reasons. It is impossible to predict the outcome of suicide since each suicide is the consequence of a complex interplay of genetic, biochemical, psychological, and social factors. Multiple population-based suicidal postmortem research has been carried out in the past few decades, including key informant interviews and document checks and follow-up examinations of individuals who tried suicide, providing critical information regarding adolescent risk factors for teenage suicide.
Numerous factors can be associated with an increased risk of suicide in youth, making this valuable information in the fight against the disease.
Disorders of the Mind
The majority of research points to a connection between mental illnesses and suicide (17, 18). Nearly nine out of every ten individuals who take their own lives have a mental illness (19). Suicide risk is increased by 47-74% by mental health issues. Most often, people with this condition are suffering from an emotional illness called an affective disorder. Criteria for depression were identified in 50–65 percent of suicide cases, more frequently among females than men.
Suicide risk is increased in older teens and men who misuse substances, particularly alcohol. Persons with personality disorders such as borderline or antisocial personality disorder account for 30–40 percent of those who take their own lives. Young individuals with eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa, and schizophrenia are more likely to commit suicide than the general population, even though schizophrenia accounts for a relatively small percentage of all youth suicides.
Finally, links have been discovered between suicidal behavior and anxiety illnesses, although the impact of mood and drug addiction problems, which are often present, is difficult to evaluate. Suicide risk rises dramatically when there are other mental health issues current. The high incidence of co-occurring emotional and drug use disorders is critical in this case.
Suicidal Ideation
Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts are emotionally draining. Suicidal thoughts, for example, can make it impossible for you to go about your regular activities. In addition, although many suicide attempts are spontaneous and carried out in the heat of the moment, the consequences can be life-altering, such as organ failure or brain injury.
Grief, anger, despair, and guilt are typical emotions for individuals left behind after a suicide, those who are referred to as suicide survivors.
