Youth Talks About Death - Causes of Suicide

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International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 1, No.

2, July 2011

Youths talk about Death: Causes for suicide


Jin Kuan Kok, Chin Chin Gan, and Lee Ying Goh

even more worrying as the numbers from the National


Abstract—This study aims to investigate young people’s Suicide Registry may be underreported due to the problem in
attitudes towards death and to discover from them the causes identifying the cause of death and other considerations, such
for high incidences of suicide among teenagers. A as insurance cover. However, Adnam confirms the trend that
non-probability sampling and a mix method of survey were
used. A total of 270 youths aged 15 – 24 from various schools,
points to the 20-39 age group making up the highest number
colleges and hospitals in West Malaysia participated in this of suicides [4].
study. SPSS was used to analyze the statistic figure for In Malaysia there was a fervent discussion on the issue of
frequency count, Chi-square test for independence was suicide after two tragic suicide incidents happened in Feb
conducted. The findings reveal that young people are open for 2011. Two major risk factors were highlighted:-
discussion on the topic of death with their friends and family - Poor coping mechanism for the stresses of school life [4]
members. The main factors for suicide were uncovered. More
male participants than female participants indicated
- The lack of a program to promote good mental health in
relationships with the opposite sex as a contributing factor to the country [5]
the suicide problem. Statistically ethnicity was shown to be an Adnan [4] emphasized the rising stress levels in a
important factor. More Chinese students mentioned school transitional society as the main factor. He attributed the risk
work as a cause for suicide than non-Chinese students. The factors of the young to the instability felt by teenagers
perspectives of young people on the sources of stress for suicide growing up in the context of a society undergoing value
were compared across different family types, namely blended,
changes. The traditional protective factors such as family
nuclear and single parent families.
and religion are no longer in place
Index Terms—Counselling youth, youths perspective on Adnan’s perspective and his description of Malaysia’s
death, suicide, causes for suicide, factors in youth suicide. suicide trend can be traced back to French sociologist Emile
Durkheim’s Theory of Suicide in which he postulated an
explanation of suicide cases as ‘anomic suicide’. His
I. INTRODUCTION attribution framework is as follow: as the integration of
Hendin [1] has identified Youths Suicide as an acute world society deteriorates, people will feel less anchored to the
wide problem, and it has become an epidemic in Asia where social world. Thus, Durkheim [6] attributes suicide to an
high suicide rates in several countries with larger populations external and constraining social fact which is independent of
have accounted for a greater part of the world’s suicides. individual psychopathology.
Suicide was the third leading cause of death among youths Adnan’s use of anomic and fatalistic suicides to describe
and young adults aged 10 to 24 in the United States, Malaysia’s suicide cases, operates from variance in
approximately 4559 cases in year 2004 [2]. Hence suicide is normative. However, the risks factors highlighted by Adnan,
a worrying social issue. the instability of teens, and the absence of family/ religious
An interview with the current Health Minister, Datuk Seri protecting factors have not yet been confirmed by empirical
Liong Tiong Lai (The Stars, April 2009) confirmed that research.
suicide issues have been an on-going concern in Malaysia. Anomic, literally “without norm”, behaviour results from
The suicide rate in Malaysia, according to the National the temporary, but abrupt disruption of normative restraint.
Statistics Department is as low as 1 per 100,000 suicides per This anomic or fatalistic suicide, which Durkheim considered
year (2003); however, the exact figure should be higher as only as a footnote, is generated by excessive regulation.
the degree of subjectivity in identifying a death by suicide has Therefore by principle, the sudden removal of excessive
caused difficulties in many ways [3]. The suicide rate among regulation or control as a result of social change will trigger
youths in Malaysia was found to be shocking. Suicidologist of anomic behaviour What are the actual normative restraints
Adnan Omar, who is the head of the Counselling and or disruption of normative restraint as experienced by our
Psychological Services Centre of Taylor’s University, young people? What exactly are the struggles, the stress, the
believes the suicide trend among the young in Malaysia is unbearable pains our youths face from their environment
getting more serious, and is fast catching up with Japan that (which normally means their schools, family and the
has a rate of above 30 per 100,000 people [4] At least 60 eco-systemic context for most youths) that they want to put a
people plan suicide everyday. The exact number could be stop to their existence? As individuals are part of the society,
suicide should not be treated solely as the product of
intolerable acute stressors.
Risk factors that lead to suicidality identified from the
Manuscript received June 3, 2011; revised July 1, 2011.
previous research studies are: Stressful lifestyle [7], job
Jin Kuan Kok, Chin Chin Gan, Lee Ying Goh , Universiti Tunku Abdul
Rahman Kampar, Malaysia burnout, family relationships [8], peer pressure and academic
E-mail: (kokjk@utar.edu.my, gancc@utar.edu.my, lygoh@utar.edu.my) success [9], negative childhood experience such as physical

145
International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 1, No. 2, July 2011

and/or sexual abuse, neglect and separation [9 ; 10], The findings suggest that most students are open to
substance misuse such as drugs and alcohols [9], economic discussion about the topic of death. They mostly discuss it
issues [8] with their friends. The people students are least likely to
Most of the previous studies on suicide issues are largely approach for a conversation on the topic of death are school
conceptualized and theoretically based. There is a lack of teachers. Males are likely to attribute the reason for suicide to
empirical research. Therefore the internal landscape of the boy-girl relationships, this is similar across all ethnic groups.
person needs to be explored. Interviews carried out directly As for other possible reasons for suicide, more Chinese
with the young people will provide insights into students thought the stress of school work was most likely.
understanding the current acute suicide issue. Malays students put more emphasis on family issues.
In order to grasp the attitudes to death among the youth,
their perceptions of the reasons or causes for death, the risk
factors of suicidality, and their subjective feelings and Gender distribution
experiences when talking about this sensitive topic, there
needs to be an empirical study.
Therefore, instead of using existing psychological
instruments, which aim to confirm rather than explore, and to
get a better understanding into this human phenomena, it is
necessary to draw insight from individual, personal, 127
male
descriptions by young people of their perception of suicide. 143 47%
female
53%

II. METHODOLOGY
This study employed a combination of quantitative and
qualitative approaches. A total of 270 students comprises of
127 males and 143 females aged from 15 to 24 from different
parts of urban west Malaysia were involved in this study. The
participants were from different secondary, university Ethnic distribution
campus and hospital settings. A questionnaire was designed
to find out their perceptions of death, and if they were 4
prepared to discuss their views on the reasons for suicide 16 1%
among teenagers and young adults. 6% 61
23%
Permission for the study was obtained from the gate
Malay
keepers of relevant authorities from the various organizations
Chinese
taking part, who were the principals of secondary schools and
Indian
administrative authority from hospitals. The participants
Other
were assured of confidentiality and their right to withdraw
from the study if they felt the questions were intrusive or 188
70%
difficult to answer. Sensitivity was noted and participants
were informed that only group data would be used for
publication and no personal information, nor the name of
their schools or organization would be revealed.
For the online and hospital groups, a drop-off There were 181 students below the age of 18, and 89
administration was carried out whereby the participants students were aged 18 and above.
voluntarily returned the questionnaire to the various centres.
A token of appreciation was given to all the participants. Age group
The questionnaire, include basic demographics, objective 200
questions and a few open ended questions on “what is meant
180
to be a meaningful life” aimed to find out the perspectives of
160
young people on the topic of death. There were two
open-ended questions and a thematic approach was used to 140

identify the various emerging themes. Email interviews were 120

followed up for 20 students who gave permission for doing 100 Fr equency

so. The identification of themes from the email replies 80

followed a qualitative approach. 60


The demographics of participants are shown in the pie 40
charts below:
20

III. FINDINGS 0
Below 18 18 and above

This paper reports only the quantitative part of the survey.

146
International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 1, No. 2, July 2011

A. Open to discussion on the topic of Death Boy-girl relationships ranked the highest for the possible
reasons for suicide for both the male and female students.
Will you avoid the discussion of death
in a conversation Mian cause in suicide (female
students)
200

150 200
frequency

139 no 150

Frequency
100 no
yes 100
50 34 yes
48 50
27 10
6 2
0 0
Malay Chinese Indian Others school work friends BGR family others
no 34 139 10 2 no 100 124 122 69 72 138
yes 27 48 6 2 yes 43 19 21 74 71 5
ethnics Causes

55.7% (n=34) of Malay students, 73.9% (n=139) of 80 out of 127 (63%) of male participants and 74 out for 143
Chinese students, and 62.5% (n=10) Indian students will not (52%) female participant stated BGR as the possible reason
avoid the discussion of death in a conversation. for suicide. More male participants than female participants
think BGR issues contribute to suicide.
B. With whom teens discuss the topic of Death
71(around 50%) of female stated family issues as a possible
With whom would you discuss the reason for suicide. Male students’ answers were
topic of death? comparatively lower on family issues. Only 54 (42.5%) of
male students stated family issues as a possible suicide
200 reason.
150
34 out of 61 of Malay participants (55.7%) stated family
frequency

no issues as a reason for suicide, whereas the percentage of


100
yes Chinese and Indian participants are lower. 83 out of 188 of
50 Chinese (44.1%) and 5 out of 11 Indian participants (31.2%)
0 stated so.
family friends telecou teacher others
no 98 62 180 184 173
Family issues as main cause in
yes 88 124 6 2 13
suicide
person of communication

200
The above chart shows the answers to the question “who
150
Frequency

would you talk to” on the topic of death. Friends and family no
100
are the two main source of communication on this topic. yes
More participants chose to talk with their friends rather than 50

with family members. 0


Malay Chinese Indian Other

C. Possible causes of suicide no 27 105 11 2


yes 34 83 5 2
There sources of stress that might have been causes for
Ethnic
suicide for the young were identified, namely boy-girl
relationships, family issues and school work.
School work as main cause in suicide
Main cause in suicide (male students)
200

150
150
Frequency

no
100
yes
Frequency

100
no 50

yes 0
50 Malay Chinese Indian Other

no 51 121 11 2

0 yes 10 67 4 2
school work friends BGR family others Ethnic

no 87 107 114 47 73 114


From the above tables: Among the three major ethnic
yes 40 20 13 80 54 13
groups, students from the Chinese community mentioned
Causes school work as the source of most stress, they also gave it as
the main cause in suicide. The frequency and percentage

147
International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 1, No. 2, July 2011

were as follows: 67 out of 188 (35.6%) for Chinese, 4 out of The above table shows that the percentage of participants
12 (25%) for Indian and 10 out of 61 for Malay (16.4%) who stated Family Issues as main cause in suicide: 61% (16
Chi-square test for independence was run and the result out of 26) from single parent families; 42.6% (78 out of 183)
showed that there was a significant association between the from nuclear families, and 51.7% (30 out of 58) from blended
ethnicity (Chinese vs non-Chinese) and school work as a families.
reason for suicide cases (Yes vs No), X2 (1, n= 269) = 6.696, The results show higher percentage of students from single
p= .01. More Chinese thought that school work is a main family type mentioned the three main factors or causes in
cause in suicide than non-Chinese (35.6 % vs. 19.8%), suicide, namely coping with boy-girl relationship, school
whereas more non-Chinese thought that school work is not work and family issues.
main cause in suicide compared to Chinese ( 80.2% vs.
64.4%).
Comparison among family types IV. DISCUSSION
If we compare the above mentioned sources of stress Young people are trapped between the stage of childhood
leading to suicide for the different family types, namely and adulthood, and there are many developmental processes
blended, nuclear and single parent families, the single family at work during this stage of development [11]. Some
type scored highest for all the above three possible reasons researchers suggested that people at this growing up stage are
for suicide. confronted with a lot of struggles and can experience
BGR as a main cause in suicide alienation[12].
200
As a result of social change, youths are faced with many
challenges. Young people nowadays are growing up in an
150
increasingly competitive, globalized society, in which
Frequency

100
no
uncertainty, rapid and frequent change, insecurity and risk
yes
taking are some of the characteristics of post-modern
50
globalization [13]. The school environment is always a place
0
blended nuclear single parent
of stress for most students. This is also emphasised by
no 30 77 8 previous studies showing that education is most valued in
yes 28 106 18 traditional Chinese families. It can be traced back from
Fam ily type
Chinese Confucian belief [14] that education has an
important value in most Chinese families, including
The above table shows that the percentage of participants
Malaysian Chinese families as shown in the respondents’
who stated BGR as a suicide reason: 69.2% participants from
results in this study. Most Chinese parents would expect high
single families (18 out of 26); 57.9% from nuclear families
academic achievement from their children, and most Chinese
(106 out of 183) and 48.3% (28 out of 58) from blended
students have a concept of filial piety so they do not want to
families.
disappoint their parents. This explains why most Chinese
School work as main cause in suicide participants cited school work as a contributing factor to
200
suicide.
150
The finding of this research is in line with the previous
Frequency

100
no study that normally teachers were the last people that students
50
yes
would seek counseling from in a school setting and the
0
counseling services in school is not popular. Most student
blended nuclear single parent
would seek counseling services for school work or career
no 42 129 14
yes 16 54 12 problems but not on personal issues [15]. This finding found
Fam ily type s that friends’ help was most sought for, and another resource
for young people to talk about the sensitive issue on the topic
The above table shows that the percentage of participants
of death is family members.
who stated School Work as main cause in suicide: 46.2% (12
For the sources of stress that the participants identified as
out of 28) from single parent families; 29.5% (54 out of 183)
possible causes of suicide, boy-girl relationships were among
from nuclear families and 27.6 % (16 out of 58) from blended
the highest ranked.
families.
According to Durkheim’s suicide theory [6] which depicted
Family issues as main cause in males as always more vulnerable, their risk of suicide is
suicide considerably higher. The findings seem to confirm
Durkheim’s postulation as the male students are more
200
emotionally vulnerable, as most of them cited a broken
Frequency

150
100
no relationship as a reason for suicide.
50
yes
Durkheim’s theory [6] also stated that the risk of suicide is
0
blended nuclear single parent
higher when the society has excessive or insufficient
no 28 105 10 influence on individuals. The former refers to altruistic
yes 30 78 16 suicide and the latter points to the alienation or lack of support
Fam ily type s
from the society in the case of growing youngsters.
Adnan, [4] attributes the risk factors of the youths to: -

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International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, Vol. 1, No. 2, July 2011

Instability: the young growing up among changes of The classification of family types in this study seems to have
values of the society. The changing society is an external adopted the traditional family life-cycle described in the
environment factor, whereas the fading away of traditional literature [18] in which the modern variable patterns of
protective factors such as family and religion refer to marriage were not taken into consideration. This is because
immediate eco-systemic environments in which our young Malaysia as a whole is still mainly governed by communal
people are developing. Both of these causes are the values and traditional definitions of family types. However,
environmental contributions, which belong to external and reading from the findings, young people from single parent
constaining social conditions independent of individual family faced the most stress and perhaps this group of people
needs more support.
psychopathology.
The findings confirm indirectly with those of Mr Arnan as
the results are quite similar across the board, in that most of
V. CONCLUSION
the participants regardless of religion or background
mentioned similar causes for suicide. Participants stated Suicide as a social pathology requires preventive measures
boy-girl relationship and, especially students from Chinese in the social context in which suicidal individuals are located.
families, school work. The two main causes cited arise from This paper reveals the perspective of young people on the
external stresses. The idea of anomic suicide, which is issues of suicide and death. Various possible causes for
described by Durkheim refers to a state of dissatisfaction due suicide were identified by the participants. It is hoped that the
to external stress. The findings of this researcher imply that tragedy of suicidally unhappy young people could be reduced.
young people are increasingly reacting with dissatisfaction to
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