The Role of Schools in Preventing Teen Suicide: Warning Signs, Risk Factors, and Supportive Interventions

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from 2011 to 2021, suicide rates increased among both males and females ages 15 to 24. Although these recent statistics are astounding, suicide is preventable and educating our schools and communities on risk factors, warning signs, and how to have conversations with students, staff, or loved ones when they are struggling are an important part of that education. Schools can make a difference by helping to increase awareness of suicide prevention in communities.
When students learn that suicide awareness and prevention are available in their schools, they’re given the resources they need to address their own suicidal feelings, or those of a friend. As such, proper education could lead to a dramatic decrease in suicidal thoughts and attempts among teenagers.

As many of us know, the teenage years can be tumultuous and stressful. These times are filled with major changes, including changes in our bodies, thoughts, and feelings. Strong feelings of stress, confusion, fear, and doubt may influence a teen’s decision making. Teens may also feel overwhelming pressure to succeed. For some teens, normal developmental changes can become unsettling when combined with other events, such as familial changes like divorce or moving to a new town, social changes in friendships, friend groups, etc., or having academic problems in school, to name a few.

Why Teens Consider Suicide

Although it can be difficult to fully understand what could lead teenagers to consider or attempt suicide, the answers can be complex, and often involve both environmental and emotional factors.

Emotional Causes

After a suicide attempt, many teens share that what lead them to it are feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Suicidal teens often feel like they are in situations that have no solutions. They simply can see no way out and feel like they have no control to change their circumstances.

Other causes stem from trying to escape feelings of pain, rejection, hurt, being unloved, victimization, or loss. Teens may feel like their feelings are unbearable and will never end, so suicide is their only way to escape. Many teens may also be afraid of disappointing others or feel like they are a burden, particularly to their parents or guardians, and these can lead to additional causes of suicide.

Environmental Causes

Situations often will drive the environmental causes of suicide. Bullying, cyberbullying, abuse, a detrimental home life, loss of a loved one, or even a breakup can be contributing causes of teen suicide. Frequently, many of these environmental factors occur simultaneously, along with emotional factors, to cause suicidal feelings and behaviors.

Risk Factors for Teenage Suicide

Aside from emotional and environmental causes of suicidal thoughts or actions, teenagers are at risk for several other factors, which may include:

Depression:

Up to 20% of teenagers report incidences of depression. This can include feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, loneliness, or helplessness.

Stress and Anxiety:

Much like depression, teens experience high rates of stress and anxiety, and often can’t find healthy coping mechanisms.

Mental Illness or Family History:

Teens who experience mental illness or have a family history of mental illness are more likely to attempt suicide.

Physical Illness:

Teens with physical illnesses often see themselves as different from their peers, which can be devastating during youth, leading to suicidal thoughts and actions.

Brain Development:

The human brain is still developing during teenage years, and many students do not have the capacity to handle feelings of sadness, depression, anxiety, rejection, or hurt.

Bullying:

With the rise of social media and technology, bullying has become more prevalent. Teens who experience bullying often see no way out of the situation.

Abuse, Neglect, or Trauma:

Teens who experience parental abuse or neglect, or those who have experienced trauma at home (such as the death of a loved one) are more likely to commit suicide.

Substance Abuse:

In the teenage community substance abuse and suicide are often correlated.

Teen Suicide and Mental Illness

Among teenagers, many who attempt suicide have significant struggles with mental illness, most often depression. At this age, suicide attempts are often impulsive and may be associated with feelings of sadness, confusion, anger, or problems with attention and hyperactivity. Depression and suicidal feelings are treatable mental disorders. These disorders amplify the pain they may feel. Teenagers need to have their illness recognized and diagnosed, and appropriately treated with a comprehensive treatment plan.

Identifying Warning Signs of Teen Suicide

Although suicide does not always have one single cause, it is essential for school personnel to recognize when a student, coworker, or others are in crisis. The warning signs of suicide are indicators that a person may be in acute danger and may urgently need help. These may include:

• Talking about wanting to die or to kill oneself,
• Looking for a way to kill oneself,
• Talking about feeling hopeless or having no purpose,
• Talking about feeling trapped or being in unbearable pain,
• Talking about being a burden to others,
• Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs,
• Acting anxious, agitated, or reckless,
• Sleeping too little or too much,
• Withdrawing or feeling isolated,
• Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge, and
• Displaying extreme mood swings.

Teenage Suicide Prevention Programs

Proper access to resources is key to preventing and treating any disease, whether physical or mental. Teenagers may need guidance and counseling to properly cope with negative feelings, emotions, and situations. Whether students are experiencing a poor home life or an undiagnosed mental illness, a suicide prevention program could help guide them in the right direction. Important aspects of any suicide prevention program should include:

• Identifying and assisting persons at risk,
• Resources to increase help-seeking,
• Ensuring access to effective mental health treatment,
• Responding effectively to individuals in crisis,
• Enhancing life skills and resilience, and
• Promoting social connectedness and support.

Levels of Suicide Intervention by Schools

Providing intervention to students who display suicidal warning signs is only one part of a complete suicide-prevention program. A complete program has three levels of intervention:

1. Universal Interventions: Eighty-five to ninety percent of students benefit from interventions delivered through a school-wide system of support. The overall goal of universal interventions is to prevent problems before they occur. They should be efficient and easy to implement.
2. Select Interventions: Seven to ten percent of students’ needs will exceed the level of support provided by universal interventions. Select interventions target students whose needs are not met through universal interventions. These programs and supports are typically delivered at the classroom and small-group levels. Select interventions allow for a quick and efficient response to a wide variety of student problems and needs.
3. Intensive Interventions: Three to five percent of students will require high-intensity, individually-designed interventions. Some examples of these interventions include individual behavior-management plans, multi-agency intervention and alternative placements. For effective suicide prevention, every student who exhibits a high-risk for suicide requires intensive intervention.

With this knowledge, students and teachers alike can learn how to identify warning signs, whether within themselves or those around them. Once these signs are recognized, students and staff will have the skills and knowledge they need to reach out for help.

By adding suicide prevention to a school’s curriculum, students are better able to handle and address suicidal thoughts or intentions. Prevention can save lives, especially those of younger populations who are at higher risk. When suicide prevention resources are enabled both in schools and communities, the risk of teen suicide will decrease.