Boarding Schools for Girls

The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court has been a significant source of pride within the Hispanic community. But other recent news hasn't been nearly as hopeful for Hispanic parents and children.

A June 6 article by Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje of the (San Antonio) Express News reported that Latina girls are at considerable risk for suicide:

Latinas age 12 to 17 make up the largest and fastest-growing minority group of girls in the nation. And they are more at risk of trying to take their own lives than any other racial or ethnic group their age.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25 percent of Latina teenagers have contemplated suicide and around 15 percent have attempted it, compared with 10 percent of Anglo and African-American teen girls who have attempted. Some studies put the percentage of Latina [suicide] attempters even higher. ...

Leticia Flores Canchola, director of nursing at Southwest Mental Health Center, a psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents, said 60 percent of girls who are admitted for suicide attempts are Latina, which is proportional to their local population numbers. "The majority of those who come in are sad, hopeless, helpless," she said. "They say, 'Nobody wants me.' It's a way out for them."

As is often the case with suicide, the cause of rising suicide rates among young Latina girls escapes easy identification. Luis Zayas, a researcher Latino psychology expert, told the Express News that "cultural expectations, gender issues, ethnic identity and adolescent-parental conflict converge in a toxic brew to push young Latinas to the edge."

Labels: teenagers, girls, latina, suicide

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Modern American teen girls and young women may have more opportunities than ever before, but a May 9 article by Jackie Burrell of the Contra Costa Times notes that these options are often accompanied by an unhealthy pressure that can have a debilitating effect those who feel forced to achieve "supergirl" status:

In what may be the ultimate irony, there's never been a better time to be an American girl -- or one that's as risky. Teen suicide, depression, cutting and eating disorder rates are soaring.

In 2004-05 suicide rates jumped 76 percent for tweens and 32 percent for teenage girls ages 15-18, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And some experts say the troubling mental health statistics have much to do with the crushing burden society puts on teenage girls.

It's no longer enough to do well in school and be a caring, devoted friend. Today's young women are expected to combine high-caliber academic, athletic and extra-curricular performance, with the style and looks of "Gossip Girl's" Serena van der Woodsen.

In their efforts to meet "supergirl" expectations, many girls "confess they're practically mainlining caffeine and Red Bull," Burrell reports. "They're using Aderall, the ADHD medication that's misused on college campuses to sharpen focus and pump up test-taking ability."

Depression, anxiety, and the abuse of energy drinks and prescription pills can have devastating effects on teen girls and young women, many of whom may require residential substance abuse treatment in order to overcome their self-defeating behaviors and pursue a healthier and more satisfying future.

Labels: depression, girls, suicide, drug_use

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Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24. Lorel Humberg, counselor at Orangeburg Area Mental Health Center, says there are warning signs parents and friends should watch for.

"If a teenager or child says things like 'I just don't want to be here' or 'You'd be better off without me,' take it seriously," Humberg said. "If they suddenly seem to be so much better, that's when the dangerous time is. All of the a sudden, it's okay. That may mean that they've decided to go ahead with plans to end it, especially if they start giving away their favorite clothes and possessions."

Humberg also urges young people who are contemplating suicide to talk to an adult they trust. She calls suicide a "permanent solution to a temporary problem." The feelings of depression or hopelessness will pass, she said, but sometimes young people need help realizing the transitory nature of their emotions. Source: The Times and Democrat (South Carolina)

Labels: teachers, parents, suicide

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An 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge, after his roommate posted a video on the Internet of his intimate encounter with another man.

Authorities are now determining how to charge Dharum Ravi and his friend Molly Wei, also a college student. So far Ravi faces five years in prison for invasion of privacy, but that could increase to ten years if his crime is deemed a hate crime against homosexuals. The case is very high-profile, with activists demanding that Ravi and Wei be charged with manslaughter.

The victim, Tyler Clementi, was a violinist majoring in music, whom friends described as "shy and brilliant."

This latest incident is one of the high-profile cases of cyberbullying, but not the first suicide of a young person linked to that activity. A Massachusetts high school student, newly arrived from Ireland, hanged herself after being teased publicly on the Internet; in 2008, an 18-year-old girl committed suicide after her boyfriend circulated nude pictures of her; and 13-year-old Seth Welsh also killed himself after cyberbullying incidents.

Though many people mistakenly believe that bullying is a boys' activity, many girls are involved in bullying (as both victims or perpetrators), with cyberbullying an unfortunately common type of bullying among girls.
 

Labels: cyber-bullying, bullying, suicide

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