Substance Abuse
Substance abuse is the second most common risk factor for adolescent/teen suicide after mood disorders.
Although investigating the relationship between alcoholism, drug abuse, and suicide is difficult due to problems including disagreements over how to define the terms themselves, it is still clear that there are lots of patients with suicidal behavior and substance abuse that need to be treated.
Adolescents and teens are at significant risk for suicide and substance abuse in the 15 to 24 year old age groups.
• One study of 27 teen suicide victims found that one-third had a blood alcohol level that was greater than 0.1%.
• 70% of the teens have substance problems. Even though these statistics are tragic, they are likely to be only underestimations.
• The relationship between substance abuse and suicide are interrelated. For example, depression that frequently occurs in chemically dependent patients may increase the risk of suicide.
• It has been documented that up to 98% of alcoholics report some sort of depressive symptoms.
• Some other disorders such as borderline personality disorder or bulimia nervosa are also linked to adolescents at risk for substance abuse and eventually suicide.
• Almost the same goes for cocaine abusers. According to a study done, 10-30% of cocaine abusers suffer from major depression
• If we dig deeper, it can be hypothesized that such adolescents start off with depression for many reason such as family problems, familial pressure, and peer pressure outside the home.
• A household that has an unstable relationship between mother and father or parents and children might cause children/adolescents to rely on substance abuse to relieve the sadness and pressure from parents.
• Peer pressure outside of home is also a dangerous factor in this age group where friends and schoolmates pressure adolescents into trying new substances.
