The Rise of Teen Suicide: What you Need to Know about Suicide Attempts During Covid 19
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CDC saw 51% increase in suicide attempts by adolescent girls during pandemic.
The attempts by teens to commit suicide during the Covid Lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 has risen dramatically, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Girls between the ages of 12 to 17 were found to have tried to attempt suicide increased by roughly 51% in early 2021 than the same time frame in 2019, pre-Covid. In addition, boys in the same age group had a 4% increase of suicide attempts, as well.
The CDC study indicated that the rise of suicide attempt in teens might be attributed to a “lack of connectedness to schools, teachers and peers” due to physical distancing measures, “barriers to health treatment,” “increases in substance abuse” and anxiety related to “family health and economic problems.” In addition, the rise of child abuse for children and teens during Covid is also a factor.
As the Covid 19, or Coronavirus pandemic, kept children and families inside during a time of self isolation, more children faced the risk of abuse and neglect while at home. “When families are forced to be isolated and their incomes potentially limited I think it’s going to create a lot more stress for families that are already volatile,” said Kim Garrett, CEO of Palomar, Oklahoma City’s family justice center. Indeed, Garrett believes that this time of self isolation may very well “increase domestic violence and child abuse”. Psychiatrists and other doctors who work with children agree that the pandemic has created a “perfect storm of stressors for kids, increasing the risk of suicide for many.”
For many of today’s teens, social media is an outlet they are turning to as they consider suicide.
Yet, the rate of suicide among children and teens has been on the rise for a number of years. Tragically, suicide for children under the age of 13 is not as uncommon as one might think…