Suicide Prevention

How is substance abuse linked to suicide rate in the United States

Introduction

Suicide is the act of putting an end to one 's life willingly . It is strange to note that in a developed country like the United States people of all ages and all sexes increasingly resort to suicide . Risk factors for suicide can be based on several categories such as demographics , characteristics and behaviors , life experiences , mental illnesses and psychodynamic formulations . Suicides may sometimes be precipitated due to a lethal combination of these various risk factors A police

officer who is depressed and who has a drinking problem kills himself with his service revolver . This self-destructive event has been precipitated due to 5 risk factors : sex , occupation , depression alcohol , and gun availability . Research shows that substance abuse can cause self-destructive behaviors in all stages of their use intoxication , withdrawal , and chronic usage . A person with chronic alcohol and drug use is often forced to counter many losing situations in life either in the domestic realm or in the workplace - and these situations in turn increase their risk of suicide

Statistics and some important findings

Suicide is among the leading causes of death in the United States ranking 10th to 12th annually , depending on the year (Blow et al , 2004 Numerous studies show that the co-occurrence of substance use diss and depression heightens suicide risk . There is compelling evidence indicating that adequate prevention and treatment of depression , alcohol and substance abuse can reduce suicide rates . Moreover , school-based interventions involving crisis management , self-esteem enhancement and the development of coping skills and healthy decision making have been demonstrated to reduce the risk of suicide among the youth . Some important facts proven through scientific studies are

Alcohol abusers have higher rates of both attempted and completed suicide than non-abusers (Lester , 2000

Twenty to 50 percent of the people who die by suicide have substance abuse problems . Depression is the only psychiatric problem with a more pronounced association with suicide (Murphy , 2000

Youth who have a recent history of using alcohol or illicit drugs are more likely to be at risk of suicide than other youth . Youth who used any illicit drug other than marijuana were almost three times more likely to be at risk of suicide (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration , 2003

Fifteen percent of all alcohol-dependent people die by suicide . This is a loss of 7 ,000 to 13 ,000 people every year (Sadock Sadock , 2002

Alcohol and other drug abuse are often sought as a way of escaping from the daily problems that a person encounters . It may also be related to emotional trauma , psychological stress , and other mental health problems (Merikangas et al , 1998 . Such substance abuse causes a deterioration of judgment capacity and leads to impulsive behavior . A person at risk of suicide who might not have made an attempt while sober may do so while intoxicated . Research indicates that alcohol is associated with impulsive suicides , especially those involving firearms (Goldsmith Pellmar , Kleinman Bunney , 2002...