The number one most involved factor in suicide cases is alcohol. Alcohol causes people to act on impulse and can cause a person to become depressed (Quitalcohol.com). Accidental suicide, suicide by overdose and alcohol poisoning, also falls in the category of suicide and causes an estimated 5,000 deaths of underage people each year (thecoolspot.gov). So, why do kids start drinking and what is the effect of drinking on youth suicide statistics?
According to surveys conducted by kidshealth.org the top three reasons students tried alcohol were to look cool, see what it was like to drink, and because other kids are doing it. Kids usually start drinking in grades 8-12 and most kids usually binge drink in these grades. The Center for Disease Control states that 20.8% of kids in high school binge drink. When people drink at a younger age it can cause wrecks, violence, suicide, or diseases. Also, research has shown that the brain keeps developing on into the early twenties. Underage drinkers can cause problems with brain development, function, and structure,
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Suicide is the second leading cause of death in youth ages 10-24 years old (thetrevorproject.org). According to afsp.org, only 1 in 25 youth attempts at suicide results in death. “Each day in our nation, there are an average of over 3,470 attempts by young people grades 9-12” (prp.jasonfoundation.com). Teens with mental health problems like anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression, or behavior problems have more of a problem with thinking about suicide, especially when alcohol is consumed (healthychildren.org). The suicide rate between boys and girls are also different because girls think about it two times more than boys do, but boys’ attempts result in death about four times more than girls. This is because they use lethal weapons in their attempt, where girls try to overdose or cut themselves (prp.jasonfoundation.com). These statistics are hard to believe, but they are