Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

 ADOLESCENT SUICIDE 
Although the vast majority of teenagers pass through adolescence without major 
psychological diffi culties, some experience unusually severe psychological problems. 
Sometimes those problems become so extreme that adolescents 
take their own lives. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 
adolescents (after accidents and homicide) in the United States. 
More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from can-
cer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia and infl u-
enza, and chronic lung disease combined (CDC, 2004b). 
A teenager commits suicide every 90 minutes. Furthermore, the 
reported rate of suicide may actually be understated because medical 
personnel hesitate to report suicide as a cause of death. Instead, they 
frequently label a death as an accident in an effort to protect the sur-
vivors. Overall, as many as 200 adolescents may attempt suicide for 
every one who actually takes his or her own life (CDC, 2000; Brausch 
& Gutierrez, 2009). 
Male adolescents are fi ve times more likely to commit suicide 
than females, although females attempt suicide more often than 
males. The rate of adolescent suicide is signifi cantly greater 
among whites than among nonwhites. However, the suicide rate 
of African-American males has increased much more rapidly than 
Study Alert
The characterization of a 
stormy adolescence is a 
myth for most adolescents.
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Module 38 
Adolescence: Becoming an Adult 
419
that of white males over the last two decades. Native Americans have the highest 
suicide rate of any ethnic group in the United States, and Asian Americans have the 
lowest rate (CDC, 2004b; Gutierrez et al., 2005; Boden, Fergusson, & Horwood, 2007). 
Although the rate of suicide has slowly declined, the rates are still higher for 
adolescents than any other age group except for the elderly. Some psychologists sug-
gest that the sharp rise in stress that teenagers experience—in terms of academic and 
social pressure, alcoholism, drug abuse, and family diffi culties—provokes the most 
troubled adolescents to take their own lives. However, that is not the whole story 
because the suicide rate for other age groups has remained fairly stable in the last 
few decades. It is unlikely that stress has increased only for adolescents and not for 
the rest of the population (Lubell et al., 2004). 
Although the question of why adolescent suicide rates are so high remains unan-
swered, several factors put adolescents at risk. One factor is depression, characterized 
by unhappiness, extreme fatigue, and—a variable that seems especially important—a 
profound sense of hopelessness. In other cases, adolescents who commit suicide are 
perfectionists who are inhibited socially and prone to extreme anxiety when they face 
any social or academic challenge (see Figure 4; CDC, 2004b; Richardson et al., 2005; 
Caelian, 2006). 
Family background and adjustment diffi culties are also related to suicide. A long-
standing history of confl icts between parents and children may lead to adolescent 
behavior problems, such as delinquency, dropping out of school, and aggressive 
tendencies. In addition, teenage alcoholics and abusers of other drugs have a relatively 
high rate of suicide (Winstead & Sanchez, 2005; Bagge & Sher, 2008; Hardt et al., 2008). 
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