Risk Factors:

• Delay in accomplishing developmental tasks

• Expresses feeling of aloneness imposed by others.

Teen Suicide Overview

The teenage years are a period of turmoil for just about everyone. You're learning new social roles, developing new relationships, getting used to the changes in your body, making decisions about your future.

And when you're looking for answers to problems, it can seem like no one has them. That can make a person feel quite alone.

Too often, as the daily news tells us, the search for answers to these challenges is complicated by problems outside teens' control, such as divorce, family alcoholism, domestic violence or even sexual abuse.

In such an environment, normal problems, tough enough to deal with in a loving family, can seem insurmountable. Many teens who feel they have nowhere to turn will "medicate" their pain with drugs or alcohol.

Depression is also a very common illness among teenagers. The feelings of helplessness and worthlessness that can accompany it, along with disturbances in sleep or appetite, can fuel a downward spiral of health and grades, further clouding perspective, making even thought seem intolerably difficult.

If you're suffering situations and feelings like these, you may need some extra help to hold on. If you're depressed or angry, if you're abusing substances to hold back the pain or to feel like you fit in, its vital that you try to break through the feeling of isolation you may have and talk your feelings over with someone, preferably a mental health professional.

It's vital that you break through the isolation because studies have shown that teens who're feeling depressed, abusing substances or acting out their violent feelings are at high risk for suicide.

Isolation at Core of Adolescent Woes

A recently completed 10 year study of adolescent development suggests nearly 1/2 of all teens are struggling with drugs, alcohol, premature sexual activity, violence, eating disorders and depression.

While every generation perceives its adolescents as in trouble, there are growing signs that many of our teens are digging deep holes for themselves and taking their frustrated, scared parents with them.

Personally or professionally, I've been involved with teenagers of every decade since the 1950's. There are always problems. Does it really matter if it's worse now? Not really.

Bottom line is that there's enough evidence to suggest the problem deserves some meaningful responses. Therein lies the rub. All the study groups recognize that the issues are incredibly complex and the recommendations are usually so daunting that they never take root.

My response to this is to try to focus on a central issue and build some recommendations around it, This isn't meant to be "THE ANSWER", just a way we can respond, as parents and as a community.

The central issue is "isolation." Teens are isolated from family and community; parents are isolated from the rest of the parent community and from schools. Our society has lacked a meaningful role for adolescents ever since family farms and family shops stopped dominating our economic structure.

Increasingly, school has been made the priority for adolescent lives, even though it has only long-term payoffs, isn't the area of strength for most children and has very little relationship to the skills needed to be successful in the real world.

The parent-child relationship is often reduced to parents being an extension of the classroom, nagging teens about their homework and performance. Parents constantly deliver an ominous message that the world is a cruel, voracious place that will simply devour these future adults unless they're successful NOW.

Real conversation has disappeared. Between husband and wife. Friends. Certainly between parent and child. Having fun with one's teen is a lost skill, each blaming the other for its disappearance. Most teens don't have a significant relationship with an adult. Many don't have a close relationship with a parent.

This exacerbates the normal emphasis on peer relationships as the source of identity, education and nurturance. Increasingly, it has become the blind leading the blind. Plus, for those teens who don't fit into some teen subgroup, the pain is enormous.

Isolation. We're all suffering from it. The suggested solution is the re-creation of community: family community, parenting community, school community and community community.

Family community means not accepting the adolescent's withdrawal, spending time trying to enjoy your teen and understand his/her world, make sure there are some family dinners, family rituals that everyone must participate in, less emphasis on policing school work and more on finding some mutual activity that can be enjoyed, reducing adolescent commitments if it's interfering with family life (which also means reducing your own for the same reason) and insisting that you know where your kids are (especially afternoons) regardless of your teen's alleged anger at having to call in or about being restricted to being at home with no friends in the house.

But remember that if you want to pull the plug on TV, the Internet, or the telephone, you must provide an alternative to reduce the increased isolation.

Parent community means talking to each other about what's happening out there, letting each other know when you hear concerns about another parent's kid (we must stop being so ashamed and defensive about our children's behavior), keeping an eye out for each other's children and calling to see if there will be adult supervision during the afternoon gathering or the evening party (ignore the complaints that nobody else's parents do it - then everyone will be doing it).

School community means parents and teachers must TRULY work together. It rarely happens. Mutual respect is lacking. We blame each other for problems rather than team together to find solutions. Teachers and counselors who do show concern are often pushed away by defensive parents. (Why do we have so much trouble accepting help?)

Schools need major restructuring. They no longer fit the needs of our society. At the very least, find a way, through special credit programs, to identify the strengths of adolescents and encourage expression of interests in art, poetry, politics, drama, investment, whatever...we need a way to help vulnerable kids feel successful, valued and liked...NOW.

Community community means looking at teens as a positive resource and not a threat to our safety and sanity. Increased roles in child care and elder care, activity centers, churches and synagogues doing more than offering more academic responsibilities (than, again, if parents are lost spiritually, what can we expect from our children).

Are teenagers scared to go to school?

At least 924 times in the past year and a half, a Kansas student has been concerned enough about about his or her safety at school to call a hotline.

2 years ago a School Safety Hotline was established in Kansas in response to the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. It's operated by the Kansas Highway Patrol and from August 1999 to December 2000 the toll-free number received 924 calls, said Sgt. John Eichkorn, spokesperson for the highway patrol.

Eichkorn said that of those 924 calls, 266 were referred to local law enforcement agency because it was determined they needed to be investigated. The number is 1-800-877-8203.

"It shows that obviously there are some concerns associated with school safety around the state," Eichkorn said. "The hotline gives kids an avenue to get across information that could possibly save hundreds of lives."

Are teenagers scared to go to school?

'I'd say that any reasonable clear-thinking teenager would be easily triggered to alarm," said Dr. Chuck Smith, a professor in Family Studies and Human Service Dept. at Kansas State Univ.

"Scared may be too strong of word. If people aren't scared they're on edge and vigilant. Vigilant in the knowledge that things can quickly go dramatically wrong."

There's always been violence at school, Smith said he remembers being beat up a couple times on the way home from classes. But what's different now is the severity of violence.

Most parents and grandparents and even people in their 20's didn't experience the safety concerns that young people do today.

"There's been a change overall," Smith said. "There's the feeling of not being secure when you're sitting in your desk."

Nikki White, a 16-year-old sophomore at Topeka High School and secretary of Students Together Rising Against Packing Pieces, said safety has recently become a "really big concern" for high school students.

"I don't think it should be something to worry about every day," Nikki said. 'It makes it sad you have to be worried in school."

STRAPP, formed in 1994, is a group of about 40 Topeka High students who work to promote non-violence. The students speak to elementary, middle and high schools. They talk to students about alternatives to violence. They talk about going to an adult if they hear of someone threatening violence.

STRAPP members also talk to each other about what's going on in school and the stress they're experiencing.

When asked if most parents have any idea what goes on in schools, Nikki replied that it depended on whether that parent is paying attention. It depends, she said, on whether the parent talks to his or her child.

Joann Clare goes to a school very different from Topeka High, but she has some of the same concerns nonetheless. She's a 15 year-old at Jefferson West High School in Meriden.

Topeka High is one of the state's largest high schools with more than 2,000 students this year. Jefferson West has about 340 students enrolled this year, while Royal Valley has about 270 pupils.

Joann's concerns echo those of Nikki.

Joann said the arrests in Hoyt prompted conversation at Jeff West.

"It's just one of those things you think about," she said. "Really, I think it's kind of sad and unnecessary because there's lots of ways to resolve things other than violence."

Joann is involved with the group STOP - Students Taking on Prevention. She and about 30 other students visited the Capitol last week to talk about the violence prevention program.

STOP is a student-led, violence prevention program created by Family, Career and Community Leaders of America after a local FCCLA chapter president was permanently injured in a 1997 attack in Paducah, Ky.

STOP trains high school students to recognize the warning signs of potential violence, report the behavior and have local action projects to reduce school violence, said Cynthia Leniton, state coordinator of STOP.

Leniton said the training will continue twice a year for any school that has a FCCLA chapter. The main goal is violence prevention, she said.

"The violence is as simple as bullying all the way up to bringing a firearm to school," she said. "If a student hears that this might be going on they need to report it. If they don't report that something is going on and a tragedy occurs they're just as much at fault."

She said most teenagers think about the possibility of violence in their schools, although some believe it'll still never happen to them.

There's a universal belief among students, she said, that adults don't know what's going on in the schools.

Action steps for students

Listen to your friends if they share troubling feelings or thoughts.

Encourage them to get help from a trusted adult, such as a school psychologist, counselor, social worker, leader from the faith community, or other professional.

If you're very concerned, seek help for them. Share your concerns with your parents.

Create, join, or support student organizations that combat violence.

Work with local businesses and community groups to organize youth-oriented activities that help young people think of ways to prevent school and community violence. Share your ideas for how these community groups and businesses can support your efforts.

Organize an assembly and invite your school psychologist, school social worker and counselor, in addition to student panelists, to share ideas about how to deal with violence, intimidation and bullying.

Get involved in planning, implementing and evaluating your school's violence prevention and response plan.

Participate in violence prevention programs such as peer mediation and conflict resolution.

Work with your teachers and administrators to create a safe process for reporting threats, intimidation, weapon possession, drug selling, gang activity, graffiti and vandalism. Use the process.

Ask for permission to invite a law enforcement officer to your school to conduct a safety audit and share safety tips, such as traveling in groups and avoiding areas known to be unsafe.

Help to develop and participate in activities that promote student understanding of differences and that respect the rights of all.

Volunteer to be a mentor for younger students and/or provide tutoring to your peers.

Know your school's code of conduct and model responsible behavior. Avoid being part of a crowd when fights break out. Refrain from teasing, bullying and intimidating peers.

Be a role model-take personal responsibility by reacting to anger without physically or verbally harming others.

Seek help from your parents or a trusted adult, such as a school psychologist, social worker, counselor, teacher, if you're experiencing intense feelings of anger, fear, anxiety, or depression.

Imminent Warning Signs

Serious physical fighting with peers or family members.

Severe destruction of property.

Severe rage for seemingly minor reasons.

Detailed threats of lethal violence.

Possession and/or use of firearms and other weapons.

Other self-injurious behaviors or threats of suicide.

Immediate intervention by school authorities and possibly law enforcement officers is needed when a child:

Has presented a detailed plan (time, place, method) to harm or kill others-particularly if the child has a history of aggression or has attempted to carry out threats in the past.

Loucks and his colleagues at Harvard and the University of California, Los Angeles, investigated CRP, IL-6 and fibrinogen as potential biological links between friends, family and health.

Researchers failed to find any correlation between the degree of social isolation in women and their levels of the inflammatory biomarkers.

Among the 388 men, CRP levels were 3.69 for those in the lowest 4th of social network index (i.e., those most socially isolated) compared to 2.33 for those in the highest 4th.  Levels of IL-6 were 5.54 for those in the lowest 4th and 4.10 in the highest 4th.

Fibrinogen levels were only slightly different:  2.98 compared to 2.73.

When the researchers statistically controlled for age, education, race, physical functioning and the presence of other diseases, they still found a significant inverse correlation between people's social network and their levels of the 3 biomarkers.

However, when the team further controlled for behavioral factors that can affect health, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, physical exercise and obesity, the association was no longer statistically significant.

This last finding shines further light on how social relationships may influence a person's level of biomarkers because social relations may influence behavior, Loucks noted.

"If your spouse eats a high-fat diet, chances are you'll eat a high-fat diet, or if your spouse exercises, chances are you will too," he said.  "People who have a low variety of social relationships may not have people to support them in behaviors such as exercise, or in stopping smoking."

"Stress can raise levels of IL-6 and fibrinogen and may be another pathway by which social isolation can influence health," Loucks said.