The term ‘teenager’ first gained prominence in the decade of 1950s, back then, the youths in the USA lost their lives mostly because of alcohol addiction, pregnancy at young ages, and car accidents. But today, the American teenagers have themselves become the foes of their lives. Boys, rather than losing their lives in car accidents, are giving up on life themselves. In almost 50% of the girls, the chances of them attempting to commit suicide are higher than untimely pregnancy.
After accidents, suicides are the second biggest reason behind the deaths of the youths aged between 10 and 18 in the USA. The tendency of committing suicides has increased among this age group because of the increase in problems related to mental health. The situation has worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, around half of the high school students in the USA stated that they constantly suffer from feelings of sadness and despair. In 2009, this was a 26%, and out of every 5, 1 student thought of committing suicide at a serious level.
There has been recorded a 14% hike in this tendency from earlier times. 9% of the students had tried to end their lives. Earlier, 6% of them were in such a situation, and the rate of committing suicide has been found to be the highest among students aged between 10 and 18. Last year, the highest increase in suicides could be seen among men aged between 15 to 24 years.
The major reasons behind the youth committing suicides are poverty, ill behaviours on the part of parents, and conflicts between parents. Loneliness is another prominent factor. During the pandemic, the chances of committing suicide among children who faced bad behaviours, abuse, or ignorance, was 25 times higher than among children who were happy. The children living in rural areas are the most vulnerable.
In the last 10 years, cases of suicides being committed have increased among the youth of Australia, England, and Mexico. It has been discovered in the new study released by the National Health Service that out of every 6 aged between 7 and 16 in England and Wales, 1 child is facing mental health issues.
