Preventing Suicide
By Molly Hedrick, PhD
We know that suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth in America. We also know that there have been alarming rises in suicidality in teens in recent years, with as many as 13% of girls having attempted suicide, and 30% having seriously considered it. As many as 20% of LGBTQ+ youth have attempted suicide.
Getting treatment for suicidal thoughts and actions is crucial. But the need for prevention is just as important as the need for treatment.
Suicide Risk Factors
Prevention of suicide is often multi-faceted and complicated. Knowing the factors associated with suicide risk can help determine the best approach to suicide prevention.
Individual risk factors that contribute to the risk for suicide include:
history of depression
legal problems
serious medical issues
financial problems
substance abuse
Relationship factors that contribute to the risk for suicide include:
high-conflict relationships
loss of relationships
social isolation
Community risk factors include:
bullying
violence
trauma
victimization
lack of access to health care
acculturation stress
discrimination
Larger societal factors include stigma related to mental illness and help-seeking, easy access to lethal means of suicide and media portrayal of suicide.
Protective Factors
Individual protective factors include effective coping strategies, reasons for living and a strong sense of cultural identity.
Relational protective factors include support from family and friends and feeling connected to others.
Community protection includes feelings of connection to school, community and social institutions, and availability of quality physical and mental healthcare.
Societal protection includes creating a society in which adolescents feel safe and protected.
Suicide prevention therefore is multifaceted and requires intervention across these levels of risk and protective factors.
For example, at the individual level—talk to someone immediately and get treatment, remove and secure lethal means, make a plan for safety and supervision.
At a relational level—gather a support system, promote healthy peer norms, and work on connecting to others in health ways.
At a community level—create programs and spaces of belonging and connection where healthy identities and relationships are fostered. Folks that feel connected and supported are much less likely to have suicidal ideas and behaviors.
At a political level—advocate for policies that work against discrimination, racism, homophobia, transphobia, poverty, joblessness, gun control, homelessness and bullying. Availability of quality mental health and substance abuse treatment is fundamental. As an example of these political factors, people in rural areas are twice as likely to die by suicide than folks living in urban areas. Rural teens have greater access to firearms, but significantly less access to mental health care.
Making mental health treatment and suicide prevention a priority across systems of care and across individual, relational, community and political interventions is fundamental to improving the health of our society.
Get Mental Health Care
We’d love to connect you or someone you know with mental health care. To refer a child/teen/adolescent or yourself, please call (877) 992-2422 or click here to make a referral. Bradley REACH’s expert teams of psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and nurses provide intensive mental health care and therapy to teams and families, virtually, in New England, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Florida.
DISCLAIMER:
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
If you or your child are in crisis or experiencing mental health problems please seek the advice of a licensed clinician or call 988 or Kids Link in Rhode Island.
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