Suicide among high school girls is a serious problem that deserves our focus. Adolescence is a tough period characterized by scholastic aspirations, peer dynamics, identity formation, and mental health difficulties. Though adolescence is a time of tremendous encounters, the sheer absorption and intensity are usually too much for youngsters to bear without stress and suffering. Suicide is the worst outcome of depression. Suicide is a dreadful act in and of itself, but when committed by a child or adolescent, it is much more tragic. Unfortunately, some young women are overwhelmed by their surroundings, leading to terrible outcomes. This paper reviews the statistics in different studies representing the rate of suicide among young women.
According to an article by Stentiford et al. (2021), emotional instability is the major cause of suicide among adolescent females. The authors suggest that numerous studies that have been published indicate that there is a rapid upsurge in the number of young people experiencing emotional disorders. According to the article, the Department for Education (DfE)-commissioned State of the Nation survey discovered that girls’ experiences with bullying (both in person and online) were the “risk factor” most significantly connected with mental illness. Mental illness is the leading cause of suicidal thoughts. Therefore, the article presents data that shows that suicidal thoughts and acts are greatly influenced by mental illness, especially among young girls in high school. In addition, a rising amount of scholarly work argues that academic expectations and the desire for school achievement, along with an increasingly “risky” society marked by an insecure labour market, might have a particularly negative impact on girls’ emotional states (Stentiford et al., 2021).
Furthermore, Wang et al. (2021) state that studies have looked at how parental engagement and adult social support at school affect high school students’ mental health, especially suicidal thoughts, and behaviors (STBs). The article collected data from 362, 980 students from 412 schools in Georgia, where 51.85% were females, and the results indicated that parental participation, adult social support at school, and experiences with face-to-face and online victimization, were associated with STBs. The findings of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) revealed that perceived parental engagement and adult social support at the student and school levels were adversely connected to teenage STBs. Face-to-face and online victimization at both student and school levels were powerful indicators of STBs. Student-level perceived parental participation and adult social support reduced the link between victimization from peers and STBs. However, perceived adult social support at the school level increased the link between face-to-face and cyber victimization, as well as STBs (Wang et al., 2021).
In addition, cyberbullying is a significant contributor to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. In the worst cases of cyberbullying, the victims end up losing their lives. According to Yang et al. (2022), cyberbullying is a serious issue among adolescents. Given the negative implications of cyberbullying, it is important to investigate the reasons for cyberbullying perpetration among teenagers. Furthermore, peer pressure accurately predicts future instances of cyberbullying and cyberbullying perpetration over time. Therefore, the article discusses cyberbullying as a cause of undesirable impacts on the victims, the worst of all being suicide.
Another article by Mueller et al. (2021) introduces the concept of Durkheim’s theory. According to the article, the sociological study of suicide is still based on founder Émile Durkheim’s (1897/1951) empirical research of suicide, which remains the discipline’s most significant influence on suicidology. Durkheim’s theory is based on two primary tenets: (1) that the makeup of suicide rates is a positive consequence of the organization of a group or class of people’s social ties, and (2) that social relationships differ in terms of incorporation and (moral) control. Even though Durkheim never explicitly defined his aspects, sociologists have normally interpreted integration as the fundamental components of social relationships, such as the quantity and strength of ties, and control as the extent to which a collective’s ethical framework regulates and coordinates its members’ views and conduct (Mueller et al., 2021).
In addition, Durkheim identified four types of suicide based on integration and regulation: egoistic/altruistic (too little ↔ too much integration) and anomic/fatalistic (too little ↔ too much regulation). Sociology is most renowned for the Durkheimian understanding of why individuals commit suicide: a lack of meaningful social interactions that support one during tough times and celebrate one when things are going well is tremendously damaging to individual well-being. Nevertheless, an examination of the entire body of sociological literature, particularly the empirical and theoretical developments of the last decade, reveals the societal causes of suicide (Mueller et al., 2021). Incorporating sociological perspectives on how the external social environment influences suicide and preventing it may help to better grasp the complexities of suicide and how to act successfully. Therefore, the article perfectly explains Durkheim’s principle of suicide, offering facts about the causes and implications it has on society at large (Mueller et al., 2021).
The last article by Posamentier et al. (2022) indicates that schools in the United States have incorporated social-emotional learning (SEL) as part of a holistic teenage prevention of suicide program in schools. The study discovered that all of the evidence-based, school-based adolescent suicide prevention programs assessed had some degree of SEL competency. Furthermore, the research discovered that the five SEL abilities are intimately linked to addressing and mitigating the key, well-known risk factors for juvenile suicide. These data indicate that SEL can be useful in upstream juvenile suicide prevention. Evidence-based SEL should be considered by state policymakers and school administrators as part of efforts to reduce youth suicide.
In conclusion, all the studies selected address the causes of suicide among youths, and the possible solutions to the problem. All five articles provide essential data to indicate the problem associated with youth suicide, and women in particular. Therefore, the given articles are essential in this study and offer the required knowledge.
Mueller, A. S., Abrutyn, S., Pescosolido, B., & Diefendorf, S. (2021). The social roots of suicide: Theorizing how the external social world matters to suicide and suicide prevention. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 763.
Posamentier, J., Seibel, K., & DyTang, N. (2023). Preventing youth suicide: A review of school-based practices and how social–emotional learning fits into comprehensive efforts. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(2), 746-759.
Stentiford, L., Koutsouris, G., & Allan, A. (2023). Girls, mental health and academic achievement: A qualitative systematic review. Educational Review, 75(6), 1224-1254.
Wang, C., La Salle, T., Wu, C., & Liu, J. L. (2022). Do parental involvement and adult support matter for students’ suicidal thoughts and behavior in high school? School psychology review, 51(3), 329-342.
Yang, J., Li, S., Gao, L., & Wang, X. (2022). Longitudinal associations among peer pressure, moral disengagement and cyberbullying perpetration in adolescents. Computers in Human Behavior, 137, 107420.