A Parents’ Perspective
If you are a parent, grandparent, caregiver, or mentor please understand depression among teens and young adults is real and must be addressed.
- Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 24.
- When a young person commits suicide those affected include family members, especially siblings, friends, teammates, neighbors, as well as others.
- In all life threatening situations, please call RI Emergency 911.
- The first step is notifying your child’s pediatrician or primary care doctor. Sometimes, depression may be caused by undiagnosed medical illnesses.
- The best care is coordinated care between medical and behavioral health care providers.
On these pages and throughout our website, we have included information to better understand the challenges of suicide prevention; the importance of coordinated medical and behavioral health care and how The Samaritans can be supportive when family, friends and professionals are not available.
Talking With Your Teen
What can't be emphasized enough is that what a suicidal person most needs is to be listened to, not lectured or advised.
Bullying
Bullying can consist of any action (physical, verbal, or emotional) that is used to hurt another child. Things that appear to an onlooker as playful teasing or horseplay could in fact be bullying. You should recognize the signs.Parents' Toolkit
Parents' Resources
Facts
A Snapshot of the Problem in Rhode Island RI Youth Risk Behavior Survey provided by the RI High School Health Risk Report Summary (1997-2005 & 2009):
For the periods 1997 - 2009, The RI Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) reports the percentage of high school students who felt sad and hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more during the past year was stable at 24% - 26% for all years.
Deaths, Attempts and Hospitalizations according to RI Department of Health:
- 106 children died by suicide (ages 10-21)
- 1,122 children attempted suicide
(ages 0-19) - 22,505 children were hospitalized for behavioral health issues (ages 0-19)
Suicide Prevention Resources for Rhode Island Residents
Enter the name of your city or town for local resources.
