According to statistics, suicide has a low occurrence among children under the age of ten. Based on the U.S. Department of Health (2012), child suicide is defined as a human behavior that is associated with psychiatric, psychological factors, biological factors, and a history of trauma, societal and cultural factors. It also states that suicide is the “4th leading cause of death among children between the ages of 10 and 14.”(U.S. Dept. 2013) Several things are thought to correlate with suicide in children. Some examples include a combination of biological, psychological, cognitive and environmental factors contribute to the risk of suicide. In the present paper, these factors play in children suicide is investigated. It is hypothesized …show more content…
Little is known about children suicide. There are various studies conducted on children who are suicidal thoughts or attempts. There are some factors within a child’s environment that can lead to developmental issues. One major factor is changes in parent’s behaviors in which can lead to a child’s irritability, withdrawal from friends, depression, loneliness, decline in academic performance and suicidal behaviors. In order to obtain decent risk factors among children, researchers conducted a study to investigate. According to De Kloet, Liselotte and Starling, Jean study, their objective was to identify the risk factors for self-harm for children and adolescents in a mental health inpatient unit. The methods conducted in the study were an overview of the patient’s demographic information, diagnosis, home situation, environmental stressors, previous mental health care and childhood trauma. The results indicated that there were 150 patients who made self- harm (mean age 14 years) and 56 patients who did not. There were several factors identified including diagnosis of depression, female gender, increasing age, living with a stepparent and having a history of trauma, including problems with the family. The study finalized by stating that as age increases as well as the level of trauma, the diagnosis of depression is at higher risk for self-harm. It also confirms that family factors significantly add to the risk, especially living with a