This is the society we have given our children. Proud of it?

World Psychiatry. 2005 Jun; 4(2): 114–120.

Global suicide rates (click here) among adolescents in the 15-19 age group, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) Mortality Database, were examined. Data for this age group were available from 90 countries (in some cases areas) out of the 130 WHO member states. The mean suicide rate for this age group, based on data available for the latest year, was 7.4/100,000. Suicide rates were higher in males (10.5) than in females (4.1). This applies in almost all countries. The exceptions are China, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador and Sri Lanka, where the female suicide rate was higher than the male. In the 90 countries (areas) studied, suicide was the fourth leading cause of death among young males and the third for young females. Of the 132,423 deaths of young people in the 90 countries, suicide accounted for 9.1%. The trend of suicide rates from 26 countries (areas) with data available during the period 1965-1999 was also studied. A rising trend of suicide in young males was observed. This was particularly marked in the years before 1980 and in countries outside Europe. The WHO database is the largest of its kind and, indeed, the only information source that can currently be used for analysis of global mortality due to suicide. Methodological limitations are discussed....

March 15, 2022

By Sandy Cohen

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people age 15 to 24 in the U.S. (click here) Nearly 20% of high school students report serious thoughts of suicide and 9% have made an attempt to take their lives, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Recent weeks have brought heartbreaking examples of this trend, including the March 1 death of Stanford soccer captain Katie Meyer, 22; and Ohio State football player Harry Miller’s revelations that he attempted suicide, shared his struggles with his coach and got help. Miller announced his medical retirement from football on March 10 in a Twitter post that’s been shared more than 10,000 times.

“This is not an issue reserved for the far and away,” wrote Miller. “It is in our homes. It is in our conversations. It is in the people we love.”...

February 13, 2023

By Donna St. George

Teen girls across the United States (click here) are “engulfed in a growing wave of violence and trauma,” according to federal researchers who released data Monday showing increases in rape and sexual violence, as well as record levels of feeling sad or hopeless.

Nearly 1 in 3 high school girls reported in 2021 that they seriously considered suicide — up nearly 60 percent from a decade ago — according to new findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost 15 percent of teen girls said they were forced to have sex, an increase of 27 percent over two years and the first increase since the CDC began tracking it.

“If you think about every 10 teen girls that you know, at least one and possibly more has been raped, and that is the highest level we’ve ever seen,” said Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health who said the rise of sexual violence almost certainly contributed to the glaring spike of depressive symptoms. “We are really alarmed,” she said....

"Focus Area: Experiencing Violence" begins on page 42 (click here)

This is not about competition or the pressure teens are under to succeed. This is about the level of violence teen girls are EXPOSED to as a part of their quality of life.

Violence is a leading cause of death and nonfatal injuries among adolescents in the United States. Violence places the lives of adolescents at risk, and experiencing violence may be associated with mental health problems, diminished academic success, sexual risk behavior, and substance use.

The YRBS includes several measures of experiences of violence, including feeling unsafe at school, bullying, forced sex, and sexual violence by anyone. Two questions assessed experiences and perceptions of school safety, including being threatened or injured with a weapon at school during the past year and missing school because of safety concerns during the past 30 days. Two questions assessed bullying during the past year, including bullying at school and electronic bullying. Two questions assessed experiences of sexual violence, including whether students had ever been physically forced to have sex or forced by anyone to do sexual things....

...In 2021, 7% of high school students were threatened or injured with a weapon, such as a gun, knife, or club, on school property during the past year. Asian students were less likely than students from most other racial and ethnic groups to be threatened or injured with a weapon at school. LGBQ+ students and students who had any same-sex partners were more likely than their peers to be threatened or injured with a weapon at school....

In this beating in New Jersey, the girls knew each other and the harassment was chronic. This is a lack of a value system that includes TOLERANCE of difference. There is no compassion or respect of "the other." There is just judgement, ridicule and hate. Judgement, ridicule and hate. Those are about the lowest common denominator in any society. Every American parent needs to ask themselves how we got here, because, something has to be done to rescue our youth from adulthood that will continue to be violent and full of hate for others; if they survive their teenage years.