Suicide and Socioeconomic Status by Rachel Wegener

Being in a low socioeconomic status doesn’t just mean lacking money. In fact it would be nice if that was the only thing it entailed because the reality is so much worse. For all intents and purposes people in a low socioeconomic status are generally referred to as poor. Poor people also tend to have lower education and poor health.  The American Psychological Association reports that lower levels of SES have been found to be associated with the following: higher likelihood of being sedentary, higher body mass index for adolescents, higher physiological markers of chronic stressful experiences for adolescents, higher rates of attempted suicide, cigarette smoking, and engaging in episodic heavy drinking, and higher levels of emotional and behavioral difficulties, including anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, and conduct disorders (apa.org).  It’s all pretty overwhelming. Let’s focus here on suicides and suicide attempts because these other problems can combine to lead a person to suicide.

                First of all let’s establish that suicide is a problem for the United States in general. Most people do not realize the prevalence of this problem. In 2012, 40,600 suicides were reported, making it the tenth leading cause of death for Americans (afsp.org).  In that year adolescents and young adults aged 15-24 had a suicide rate of 10.9, or 10.9 suicide deaths per 100,000 people (afsp.org). The suicide rate for Illinois was 9.74 in 2012. All sorts of research has been done on suicide rates based on sex, geographic region and state, ethnicity, and age. However, it is much harder to find information on suicide rates by socioeconomic status.

                One particularly helpful study that focused on adolescents and their socioeconomic status was done in 2003. The information may be a bit dated, but the principles still shed light on the situation and expose us to the trends that were found. This study analyzed data on 12,434 adolescents aged 10-18.  One area studied was health status. In the four categories of school absence days due to illness/injury, emotional/behavioral problems, limited in activity, and fair or poor health, the adolescents in the lowest socioeconomic status had the highest percentages (ncbi.gov). The rates steadily decreased as economic status increased. The same trend existed for graphs that showed how many adolescents were without a usual source of care, without a personal doctor/nurse at their usual source of care, and rated their personal doctor/nurse lower than 7 on a 1-10 scale (ncbi.gov). Adolescents’ health care is being greatly affected by their socioeconomic status. Having adequate health care often prevents suicides by identifying medical conditions such as depression and treating them early enough.

                This study also looked specifically at mental health. Only one percent of the adolescents studied were “reported to have gone without needed mental health services due to costs” (ncbi.gov). That can be good news. Hopefully that means that cost is not standing in the way of adolescents getting the mental health services they need. However, there can be several other factors restricting their access to these services. They may be held back by negative views and stereotypes of what mental health services are and what kind of people use them. Perhaps these services are not available in their area or they have no way to get there. In this study, poor adolescents were about three times more likely than adolescents in middle- and higher-income families to have reported unmet mental health needs (ncbi.gov). Now that is a problem. There is no reason these adolescents should be deprived of the help they need. This study showed that having health insurance programs is necessary, but not sufficient.

                So we want to help adolescents get the services they need. Where is a logical place that services could be provided? Schools! Some may argue that it is not the job of the school to also play doctor and have psychologists available to the students. If it’s not the schools job whose is it? Ultimately it should be the parents, but those in a lower SES often neglect this responsibility or are not able to provide it. Even if it is not necessarily the school’s job, these adolescents need help and schools are in a perfect place to provide it. Unfortunately many schools do not have a psychologist, social worker, or any kind of link to one. There are approximately half a million social workers in the U.S. and 5% of them are in schools (socialworkers.org). In Illinois, there are 1341 students for every school psychologist (nasponline.org). That is not acceptable! Some schools say they cannot afford to hire a psychologist, but the majority of them have guidance counselors. Instead of having a guidance counselor only assist students with college preparation and classes, why not have them trained in the basics of psychology? It would help tremendously if guidance counselors were also equipped to see warning signs of depression and suicide and provide resources for where else the students can get help or at least more information.

                Also what about providing more education about depression, anxiety and suicide so that students are more likely to see warning signs in their friends and/or ask for help when they need it? There are so many common misconceptions about these issues! People often think the struggling person is just being too negative, not trying hard enough, or that it will just pass. In Christian schools adolescents can be told they are not having enough faith, not trusting God enough, or sinning by not being content with what God has given them. These all assume that the adolescent is in control! The thing about depression and anxiety is that it seems uncontrollable until coping techniques are learned and it is often completely illogical.

Why not include mental health in health classes? The stigma and silence around mental health only pushes those suffering deeper into despair. There is no reason the subject of mental health could not be added to health classes. Students need to understand that if they feel hopeless or depressed there is not something wrong with them, they just need some help to understand their feelings and work through them. It is also important that people be taught that it is okay to ask for help, it is a sign of strength rather than weakness. Taking medicine for anxiety or depression should not be looked down on. These things have to be taught because too often people believe the lies that they are weak.

May has been named Mental Health Month, with one week in it being National Anxiety and Depression Awareness Week. September 7-13 is National Suicide Prevention Week. October 3-9 is Mental Health Awareness Week. All these days to raise awareness are good, but is that enough? I would argue no! Why aren’t more organizations right in high schools and colleges? I challenge each of you readers to think of your current and past schools. Does mental health ever come up in conversation? Are there events held to raise awareness? Do you know where you could go if you felt depressed or suicidal? If your school provides these resources, support them! When events are held, attend! Showing support lets those who are suffering know they are not alone, that there are people who care. Taking time to learn the true facts about these mental illnesses is important so that if you ever have a friend or family member struggling you can properly help and support them.  If this is something you feel strongly about I urge you to act on it! There are many ways you can spread the word. The organization To Write Love on Her Arms offers college students the opportunity to start a UChapter. These chapters will hold events and meetings. High schoolers can work with a faculty member to arrange a two month campaign called the Storytellers that will start conversations about mental health and fundraise.

Don’t let the lies persist. Don’t allow the suffering people to believe they are alone. Encourage schools to provide resources for students regardless of their SES. Encourage communities to have resources available so these adolescents don’t feel the need to turn to suicide!

Charvat, Jeffrey L. "How Many School Psychologists Are There?" NASP Communique. National Association of School Psychologists, Mar. 2005. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

"Children, Youth and Families & Socioeconomic Status." Http://www.apa.org. American Psychological Association, 2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.

"Facts and Figures." American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.

Newacheck, Paul W., Yun Yi Hung, M Jane Park, Claire Brindis, and Charles E. Erwin, Jr. "Disparities in Adolescent Health and Health Care: Does Socioeconomic Status Matter?" Health Services Research. National Center for Biotechnology Information, Oct. 2003. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.

"School Social Work." School Social Work. National Association of Social Workers, 2014. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.