How can we bring awareness of youth suicide to the adults and parents in our community?

The
research that I have provided below, includes four sources that all deal with youth suicide in one
way or another. The different sources include, exact data and graphs that tell us the numbers
and ages involved in suicide specifically in my home state, Utah. Gun control numbers and the
large percentage increase in firearms sold this past year, and I did include an article that was
written about a teenager who died by suicide at his middle school. All of these sources are
going to help me collect the data, and medically given signs and symptoms to present to
parents in the community. My goal is to use this research to explain to parents what could
possibly be going on with their children, so that they can act fast and prevent the irreversible
from happening.

Kamenetz, Anya. “The Pandemic Has Researchers Worried About Teen Suicide.” UPR Utah
Public Radio, 2020, www.upr.org/post/pandemic-has-researchers-worried-about-teen-suicide.

This article, written by Anya Kamenetz in September of 2020, focuses on teen suicide rates
during this ongoing COVID pandemic. The article gives many numbers and comparisons to
previous years stating that "From March to July 2020, gun sales doubled compared with the
year before" and that "Suicide by gun increased a staggering 214%." This quote is telling us that
with the more purchases of firearms, the number of suicides by firearm dramatically increased.
Kamenetz’s article gives advice to parents and what they can do to recognize the signs of a
suicidal child/teen during these very hard times of online video chats and social isolation.
The source was created to tie in the nationwide pandemic that is happening right now. Since the
beginning of COVID-19, there has been proof of a significant increase in depression and suicide
due isolation, worry, and grief.

The fact that the amount of guns being purchased has doubled from last year and the rates are
going up with it, CLEARLY SAYS THERE IS A PROBLEM. Guns are getting put into the wrong
hands and are not being stored away safely. Ages 10-14, that is a child in the 5th grade, are
struggling badly that they find a way through firearms to end their lives. This is a problem!
Young children and teens should have no recollection of the purchase of a firearm and
absolutely no access to it. And we HAVE to find a way to help prevent this from happening even
more and prevent our numbers from doubling yet again.

Sheftall, A., Asti, L., Horowitz, L., Felts, A., Fontanella, C., Campo, J., & Bridge, J. (2016,
October). Suicide in Elementary School-Aged Children and Early Adolescents. Retrieved
December 03, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5051205/

This article tells us about the suicide rates among elementary aged children. "Participants
included all suicide decendents aged 5 to 14 years." Have you ever thought about that? About
the fact that their are children who are just beginning their early kindergarten years, and are
dying by suicide? It is discussed by the authors, who have all received high degrees, that the
comparisons between them and early adolescents, shows that these young children died by
suicide because of relationship problem with family/friends vs. breakups with a boyf/gf. The
doctors also compared the fact that young adolescents seemed to suffer more from depression
vs. elementary kids suffering from more ADD (Attention Deficit disorder). Although elementary
suicide is rare, is it said that suicide is the 10th ranked cause of death for US elementary aged
children.
The source mentioned how elementary suicide is rare, however it is common enough to be
ranked the 10th cause of death for elem. aged children. That is beyond crazy to me when you
think about all of the different ways that young children can die. This article was more of a
compare/contrast between elem kids and young adolescents which I liked because it helped us
get a better look at the difference between the two age groups and what is causing the rates for
both. Getting information from doctors on Suicide in Elementary School-Aged Children and
Early Adolescents is really going to help me when I try to explain in the pamphlet the different
signs to look for in your young children.

Foy, P. (2012, November 30). Vigil held for Utah teen who committed suicide on school
walkway. Retrieved December 03, 2020, from https://www.standard.net/news/local/vigil-held-for-
utah-teen-who-committed-suicide-on-school-walkway/article_a759a4ca-5b2a-5417-8dc2-
11eca1df4520.html

This article is about a 14 year old boy who died by suicide and the vigil that his friends, family,
and classmates held for him. Foy talks about the situation and what happened, however along
with everyone else who was involved, is trying to further understand why exactly it happened.
I chose this article because I wanted to unfortunately be able to show people that this is a real
thing. Young kids are actually taking their lives and we have to stop it. This young boy got a hold
of a gun in his house, and decided that life was not worth living anymore. Why did he have easy
access to a firearm? Did his parents know he was struggling with suicidal thoughts or feelings?
How can we stop this? What needs to be changed? This source is related to my study because
it shows that these demographics are not made up. There are real children who feel like they
should no longer be living, and do not get the chances they should to get help. Which is why
parents and adults need to learn to approach their children with questions relating to suicide and
remind their children that it is a serious thing that they are safe to talk to you about.

Giles, Lisa. “Youth Suicide Prevention and Primary Care.” Youth Suicide, 2019,
Physicians.utah.edu. 22 November 2020 phttps://physicians.utah.edu/echo/pdfs/2019.01.16-
youth-suicide-prevention.pdf

In this source, we are given information from multiple people including one of the University of
Utah Medical Directors,Lisa Giles, on the epidemiology and prevention of youth suicide,
specifically in the Utah region in January of 2019. The Utah Department of Health provides
graphs that show different age groups as well as methods for those different age groups.
"Suicide is the leading cause of death among 10-17 years old in Utah." Children the age of ten
are in the 5th grade, which is elementary school. This document also provides people with a list
of screening protocols as well as assessments that should be performed on teens. The Youth
Suicide Epidemiology will help other young people as well as older friends and family recognize
different signs and symptoms of some who may be experiencing suicidal idealization or severe
depression.
In this document, age groups are broken down between “ages 10-17” and “18+”. I personally
would have liked to see some of the numbers for children who are even younger than the age of
ten. This is because many people, especially parents and those who work with young children
do not look at those demographics. If we were to bring more attention to the younger aged
children, we can hopefully prevent the shock that we see when we do look at those numbers.
This source fires into my debate because we need to find a way to make younger children TOO,
feel that they can talk to an adult about these problems instead of suggesting to them that they
see a school counselor. The Utah Medical Directors are professional healthcare workers who
spend the majority of their time researching and collecting data. These numbers that we see
here are the best and most accurate that we will get.

These sources break my heart. We constantly hear about suicide in neighboring high schools,
celebrities, etc. but you never hear or read about the youth suicides that are happening all
around us. The sources that I chose gave me a lot of information that I feel I can use to educate
others in the community about what is happening and how we can prevent it from happening. I
feel that of these sources give me good statistics to show that rates are increasing and that
there is a problem that we have to prevent from getting worse, however I do want to find more
specific data relating to younger children, even those in elementary school who are choosing to
end their lives by suicide. They are being unrecognized and are scared to "talk to an adult"
about their problems or thoughts. I have some good advice and information on how
parents/adults/friends/therapist/physicians can help become more aware of what is happening
in the minds of young people and how to help them in a quicker way… before it is too late.

I chose to research and study suicide because my family has personally been affected by
suicide and I have experienced how it changes a person. In both middle school and high school
we are told by teachers and counselors that if you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or
feelings you should talk to someone immediately. However, I feel that this subject is often
overlooked in elementary school’s because administrators and teachers feel it is a “touchy” and
“inappropriate” subject to talk about with such young children. We need to bring awareness to
the younger generation that is not being taught that the adults in their life are safe people that
they can honestly talk to without the fear of being “shut down” or “in trouble” for having those
thoughts. And adults/parents need to be educated on how to approach their young children
about the subject along with the signs and symptoms to recognize if their child is struggling and
has a fear of talking to someone about it.