Those Most at Risk

The suicide rate is substantially higher among First Nations teens, and for many reasons. for starters, any teenager is going through an identity crisis, they are trying to find out just who they really are. That alone puts alot of pressure on, but on top of it, they have to live in a world where racism is on the rise, and they have to struggle to fit in.

Drug and alcohol abuse is also on the rise, affecting up to 70 percent of the First Nations population, related fatalities is three times higher among First Nations than the rest of the population. This increases the crime rate, lowers the educational achievement, and causes social problems, unemployment, and poverty. Situations like this would only make a teenager already dealing with problems of his/her own to try and 'find a way out'.

Young males are also more at risk for killing themselves, the ratio of young men to young women committing suicide is 4 to 1. Young women do however 'attempt' suicide four times more often than young men.

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You can find out where the preceeding information was obtained in the bibliography