Christian Counseling Today Vol. 21, Iss. 2

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christian counseling today Vol. 21 no. 2 55
n Alcohol or drug abuse
n Stressful life event or loss
n Easy access to lethal methods
n Exposure to the suicidal behavior of others
n Incarceration5
This list and others identify how complex and multilay-
ered the factors really are that contribute to suicide. We do
know that from 1991 to 2013, serious attempts have dropped
from 29% to 17% among high school students,6 although
because of the interrelatedness of factors, it is difficult to
determine exactly why. General self-report risk factors, like
“sadness” and “hopelessness,” however, remain alarmingly
high, with 39% of high school girls and 20% of high school
boys revealing that they felt sad or hopeless “almost every day
for two or more weeks in a row.”7 We also know basic demo-
graphical facts—such as girls being more than twice as likely
to consider, and attempt, suicide than boys; yet, boys are four
times more successful than girls,8 and each day in our nation
there is an average of more than 5,400 suicide attempts by
young people in grades 7-12.9
While we have learned much on the subject, the scope
of adolescent depression and suicide remains alarming. Data
and risk factors can help us understand what we are dealing
with and be more aware of those who are, perhaps, more
vulnerable to suicidal thoughts and tendencies. The larger
issue, however, is why so many kids feel lost, broken or hope-
less. One Web site suggests that “the increase in adolescent
suicide is, at least in part, an outgrowth of the secularization
of modern society.”10 If true, though, then suicide would be
less of an issue in the Church than in society at large, which
does not appear to be the case. The more likely influencers on
this continuing epidemic of sadness, depression and suicide
among adolescents are the sweeping cultural changes that have
impacted us all:
n Complexity of life. Due to the power of instant infor-
mation and unfiltered opinions, every idea, option and
decision must be individually considered on its own merit,
which makes life challenging for all. However, for an
adolescent who does not have the life experience or social
structures to navigate such complexity, it is even more
daunting.
n Self-worth is a competition. Performance, comparison
and image are what define us today, and for a young person
who is developmentally attempting to discover a worthy
self, even the most “successful” kids know there are some
areas where they don’t measure up.
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