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INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this paper is to explain the causes of teen suicide. ...
Although governments across the world realise how bad the problem is and sympathise with victim’s families, very little is known about the problems and dilemmas that young men face, especially teenage boys.
This project looks at the evidence that various sites and sources have published, and will try and relate these to the theories of Brittan and Connell, justifying that young male suicide is directly influenced by society’s patriarchal stance and the social hegemonic hierarchal structure, to which most feel that they are in a lower level. ...
STATISTICS
It is important to take the subject of suicide seriously. ...
Teen suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people aged 15 to 24 and the fourth leading cause of death for persons between the ages of 10 and 14 and it seems to be on the rise. ...
According to a 1991 Centre for Disease Control and Prevention study, 27% of high school students thought about suicide, 16% had a plan and 8% made an attempt. Suicide affects teens of all races and social standing. Boys commit suicide more often than girls do. It could be because its easier to get the tools for suicide, boys usually use firearms and girls often use pills so since the gun is more deadly, boys complete suicide. ... Also, the rate among non-white males, even though its still lower than the white male rate, has been rising most quickly of all. Suicide remains the second leading cause of death among whites after accidents and the third among blacks after homicides and accidents. Teen suicide is now considered a national mental health problem.
Table 1 shows top 25 countries with highest male suicide rate. ... 4 (1993)
Britain has one of the highest suicide rates in Europe. ... The Samaritans estimate that in the UK there is a suicide every 82 minutes. The suicide rate for 18-24-year-old males has jumped from 58 deaths per million of population in 1974 to 170 deaths per million in 1997. In October 1999, the government reported that the number of young males who commit suicide each year in the UK had doubled over the last ten years. With the support of other organisations including the Football Association, the government announced a programme aiming to cut the suicide rate by at least 25% in 10 years. One of the problems of young male suicide identified was mens reluctance to confide their problems in others, even their peers. ... See Table 3:
Change in male suicide by age
15-24 25-34 34-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
1974 95 58 106 114 154 159 188 221
1990 121 117 160 171 164 139 136 194
% +/- +27 +102 +51 +50 +6.5 -13 -28 -12
As in most other mortality figures, there are marked social class differences in the suicide rates. ... Those who dont commit suicide live an adolescence of silence and oppression, rarely being able to speak up without being struck down by peers. ... Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Task Force on Youth Suicide issued a report in January of 1989 concluding that lesbian and gay youth may constitute "up to thirty percent of completed suicides annually" and that "homosexuals of both sexes are two to six times more likely to attempt suicide than are heterosexuals. ... And when no one speaks up for them, no one stops the pain, many teens can not handle it and commit suicide. ... These contributing factors leave a very confused, hormonal male extremely upset and looking for a way out, of which there sometimes can only be one, death.
Maladaptive coping skills and poor interpersonal problem-solving ability may limit the adolescents’ ability to generate solutions to a problem, resulting in considering suicide as the only solution (McBride & Siegel, 1997). ...
Typically, any male in a masculinity hierarchy who moves too close to the position of Other, either through empathising with, interacting too much with or taking on the attributes of Others (e. ... This is because the male has to distance himself from femaleness and femininity, in order to prove that he is male. ...
UNEMPLOYMENT
The unemployed, and those in relatively insecure employment sectors, are massively
over-represented in suicide statistics. ... Young men with a strong work ethic, and whose identity is very tied up with their job, often living in rural areas where there is culturally induced “shame” in being a “dole bludger” are prime candidates.
Approximate Word count = 3658
Approximate Pages = 14.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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