Poverty and Suicide Among Teens

Poverty and Suicide among Teens
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Poverty and Suicide among Teens
Introduction
Families that find it extremely difficult to make ends meet due to low income are said to be poor. In the recent past, professionals in various fields within the society have realized that there is some relationship between poverty and suicide. This hypothesis has come about due to the trend that teenagers from poor backgrounds tend to be tempted to take their own lives. This though is hinged on two ideologies the first being the what the teenagers priorities in life are whereas the second factor is the level of poverty within the teenager’s family.
The uniqueness of this topic is the event that the teenagers who have suicidal thoughts and who eventually take their lives are still young and bright minds, which given time and determination could bring the best out of their abilities. It is basic knowledge that a teenager is to be provided for by their parents, until they attain the age enshrined in the constitution that the parents and guardians should withhold any support unless they are obliged to do so. In a family set up, for example, father and mother are the custodians of the children. Though the society may regard a family for being poor, the parents will appear to be more disturbed. The topic is further made unique by the fact that the teenagers are rarely blamed for finding themselves in backgrounds that lack financial stability.
Poverty and suicide is a happening that has been with us for a considerable duration. It is also a fact that this action is largely associated with the teenagers. The society should not turn blind to the fact that poverty and its relationship to suicidal thoughts and suicide itself affect almost all the age groups that exist within the society. More often than not, we hear of parents who kill their children before taking their lives too because they are not in a position to support their growth and development. Several research studies have been carried out to ascertain the trends of poverty and suicide among teenagers, with an attempt of putting a stop to this unfortunate occurrence. The role of this paper is to provide insight on poverty and its relationship to a teenager having suicidal thoughts and finally, taking his or her life. Specifically, this paper touches on what professionals and stakeholders think in regard to poverty and suicide among the teenagers. Similarly, this paper analyzes the facts by statistically, studying the data available in regard to this paper as well as some of the assumptions that have come up to explain why suicide is high amongst teenagers who come from families with unstable financial background.
Literature Research
The Connecticut incident is one of the happenings that will not skip our minds soon. This is because the chilling events that came along with it do make many wonder what if they were part of the event in one way, or another. Though the perpetrator who carried out the unfortunate event was twenty years, the closeness of his age with being a teenager does justify the ideology that most of the masterminds of suicidal actions are well within their teens or slightly above (Hartman, 2006). Though the boy shot twenty-eight people, his mother and took his life, he has not been said to be poor. The magnitude of such an event is worth highlighting in carrying out this evaluation.
The main reason why it is said that poverty has some relationship with a teenager having suicidal thoughts or taking his or her life is based on the fact that a teenager who hails from a background that is unstable financially is twice likely to have suicidal thoughts than a teenager who hails from a rather stable background. Similarly, it has been ascertained that though teenagers from stable families often have suicidal thoughts, the chances of them indulging in the act are rather minimal when weighed to the chances of a teenager who hails from an unstable background. This is so because a teenager who hails from an unstable background is four times likely to attempt suicide as compared to a child who hails from a family that experiences some form of financial stability. In handling this paper, it is worthwhile to recognize the fact that no reason can be given to illustrate the eventuality that the teenagers from poor backgrounds are likely to commit suicide or at least have suicidal thoughts. This is due to the event that more often than, not after somebody has committed suicide; they will not be available for explaining the reason they settled on what they did. The only realistic chance of the family or the society knowing the truth is either in a case where the victim left a suicide note citing the reason for taking part in the act or if they confided in some close person and told them something that had been bothering them for a while. In the two cases, however, it is hard to establish what transpired reason being it is difficult to take someone's word for it, as there is no witness in the two situations (Spinto et.al, 2003). Professionals, however, argue that it is possible to identify someone with suicidal thoughts and prevent the happening from taking place.
Financial instability comes with several unfortunate events for the families that they affect. For starters, the families will not be able to get a decent place to call home and will have to live in a neighborhood that does not bring about any inspiration. Such disadvantaged neighborhoods expose the teenagers to negative trends of life such as being hooked on drugs and alcohol. After being hooked on substances for a long period, the teenagers go into depression, and it is after the depression that they begin to have suicidal thoughts. Professionals, therefore, hold the opinion that the neighborhoods where the teenagers are always brought up are a contributing factor to the teenagers settling on a suicide as their last resort.
Professionals along with various stakeholders argue that poverty somehow contributes to suicide based on the fact that families with little income will more often than not go for the most important items. This includes paying of bills, medication, purchasing of food supplies, buying clothes as well as transport. To this effect, the teens are not able to get some of the items that they regard to be making their lives complete. It is far-reaching to realize that all persons, not only the teens value the opinion that is provided to us by our friends or those we associate with closely. On the same note, it is within our rights to admire our friends because they are in our lives to make us improve and be better people in the future. Teenagers who come from unstable backgrounds always feel that they live incomplete lives when they do not have the latest trending items in the market. According to Crook (2003), they feel that they just cannot live without the items being there, and when they feel that they cannot hold it any longer, suicidal thoughts crop in and they finally turn to suicide.
During the earlier stages of this section, this paper discusses the element of housing and neighborhoods as one of the contributing factors that raise the rate of teenagers who commit suicide. On the same note of housing, it is common knowledge that the disadvantaged neighborhoods come with low social support. This means that the social exposure that the teenagers go through on a daily basis cannot inspire them to have a positive mindset. Professionals argue that life in the disadvantaged areas does not help the situation either. This is due to the event that the teenagers even come across those who have attempted taking their lives at one point and that can make them have suicidal thoughts, hence resulting in them taking their lives at the end. In a like manner, the professionals argue that harsh realities in life such as the teenagers going through painful breakups makes them have suicidal thoughts and this could lead to them finally committing suicide. The idea of loving someone or being loved is always the same and the ideology that it is the heart instead of the brain recognizes love makes it more complex. Professionals however argue that teenagers who hail from well off households always have a shoulder to lean on whenever such incidences happen. In a like manner, their parents, guardians and those who are responsible and care for them can get to the point of hiring a counselor who will provide them the necessary counsel to wade through such difficult situations (Vlaminck, 2000). For the teenagers from financially unstable backgrounds however, they do not have the chance of sharing such kind of experience with anyone, this is due to the fact that they always feel ridiculed by their colleagues who rarely provide them with the necessary support whenever such events take place. Similarly, there is the difference caused by having a counselor and not having one. We are aware of the fact that having one just as explained above, makes those from w...