In part, this rise can be attributed to the increasing
availability of firearms, but, in addition, (according to the American
Association of Suicidology) 'there are more depressed kids.' And while
the actual number of suicides remain quite small - in 1993 there were
315 students in the age group 10 to 14-year old and 1,884 students in
the age group 15 to 19-year old who committed suicide. A 1993 study
of 16,000 high school students conducted by the CDC found that an
astonishing 1 in 12 said that he or she had attempted suicide the previous
year.
Camouflage is not unusual: suicide preparations may be arranged so that
the act will appear as an accident. An ailing individual might suddenly
stop taking life-saving medication; or family members, friends, or
'significant others' might goad or exert harsh psychological pressures on
an emotionally distraught person so that suicide becomes the only
escape. Ironically, 'suicide statistics' do not examine the impact of a
suicide on the victim's family and friends, nor do they note the traumatic
and often permanent effects of the failed attempt on the victim.
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