Though many adults look back on their teenage years and early 20s as an exciting period of growth and change, college-age students today may not be so happy and carefree.
According to a recent report by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the suicide rate for children and young adults aged 10 to 24 rose eight percent in 2004, the largest annual increase in more than 15 years. This increase comes on the heels of a 28 percent decrease in suicide rates among the same group between 1990 and 2003.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for 18- to 24-year-olds: Approximately 1,100 college students take their own lives each year, according to ABC News. Last December, Tufts experienced this firsthand with the suicide of then-freshman Lily Karian in her Bush Hall dorm room.
Assistant Professor of Psychology Heather Urry said the experience of adapting to college life can be extremely jarring for some students.
"Going off to college, although an exciting time, is one associated with a host of new stressors including having to make new friends, manage day-to-day concerns that parents took care of at home and heightened academic pressures," Urry said. "Under these circumstances, it's not uncommon for college students to feel down and hopeless."
Urry said suicidal behavior can come as a result of hopelessness and depression.
"It appears that the way in which one copes with those feelings has implications for suicidal ideas and behavior," she said. "If you go off and drink a lot of alcohol and avoid dealing with the new pressures, you're more likely to be suicidal."
The factors and characteristics sometimes associated with suicide include depression, history of mental illness, anxiety, family dysfunction, social isolation and feelings of hopelessness. Major depression, a preventable and treatable illness, is a primary cause of suicide, according to Tufts Counseling Center Supervising Clinician Marilyn Downs.
"Between 90 and 95 percent of college-age suicide victims suffer from some sort of psychiatric illness at the time of their death," Downs said.
But certain treatment of those conditions may be equally dangerous. In October 2004, the Food and Drug Administration issued a "black-box" label warning on antidepressants to notify healthcare providers and consumers that treating young people with such medication can lead to suicidal thoughts and behaviors, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. The release of this warning precipitated a drop in antidepressant use among adolescents.
In a press conference transcribed on the CDC Web site, Dr. Ileana Arias from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention cautioned against overstating the relationship between the drop in antidepressant use among teens and suicide.
"Suicide is a multi-dimensional and complex problem," Arias said in the conference. "As much as we would like to attribute suicide to any single source so that we can fix it quickly, unfortunately, we can't do that. And so while things such as antidepressant medication may have a role in either ideation or actual fatal suicide, [they are] probably not the only factor."
But according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the actual number of people who become more suicidal as a direct result of taking antidepressants is very small. A policy statement on the AFSP Web site says that "untreated depression, not antidepressant medication, is a greater threat to life."
According to Urry, it is crucial to maintain an open dialogue about emotions among friends and peers in order to allow for intervention before a suicide happens.
"If [students] know of someone or are themselves experiencing the feelings [of hopelessness or depression], they should definitely talk to someone," Urry said. "If they have a friend who seems depressed and hopeless, they should ask if the friend is experiencing thoughts of suicide. Don't avoid the topic; address it gently but directly."
After Karian's death last year, some students have been vocal about emphasizing the importance of suicide research and prevention. In June, 30 students participated in the "Walk for Lily" in New York City, which raised money and awareness to support suicide prevention and those affected by it. The student volunteers walked 20 miles overnight to raise money for the AFSP.
Sophomore Max Chalkin, who coordinated the event, said it was a success.
"As a whole, we raised $35,000 for suicide research and prevention programs," Chalkin said. "The money will be used for suicide research and prevention programs [which will mainly go] to grants for universities. It was a great experience. In addition to raising money, it allowed [Lily's] friends and family to celebrate her life."
Tufts has made a variety of mental health resources available to students, including individual counseling, couples counseling, psychiatric services and 24-hour emergency assistance for mental health crises.
Services offered at the Counseling and Mental Health Center are available without charge to all Tufts undergraduate and graduate students who are covered by the comprehensive health fee.
