Hello Vanessa,
The very first comprehensive book on youth suicide was published in 1985. It’s a summation of all the research from 1900-1980. Interestingly, some recently published papers only review the research back to the early 1990’s.
The authors (senior staff at Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center) suggest that the same stressors that create suicidal behavior can also create bullying behavior.
Some people react by hurting others and some react by hurting themselves to avoid hurting other people.
They also suggest that when a child attempts suicide, they have fundamentally "lost their commitment to the future". It's extremely hard to re-establish that commitment, even with all the benefits provided by the current ACEs movement.
One of the suggestions from that book that really works is to clearly and sincerely tell a person in crisis that "There is no future in suicide, you are a valued member of the community, and we have lots of work to do tomorrow” (like caring for the children, pets, or whatever is truly important to them like a peaceful sunrise or sunset).
My friend is still alive today because when she was in crisis and I said those things to her, it helped stop that circular logic that keeps going back to suicide as a viable option to actually resolve the real problems in her life.
I saw the spinning stop, right there in her 'good eye'. It was absolutely amazing.
Suicide doesn’t solve any of the real problems in life, it just stops the person’s time on earth and creates a host of different problems for those left behind. The cycle is self-perpetuating.
"The Springer Series on Death and Suicide": Robert Kastenbaum, Ph.D., Series Editor
"Youth Suicide": Michael L. Peck, Ph.D., Norman L. Farberow Ph.D., and Robert E. Litman M.D., Editors (1985)
Springer Publishing Company, 536 Broadway, New York, New York, 10012
Also in the series: "Between Life and Death", "Suicide after 60", "Children's Conceptions of Death", and "Hospice Care".
Good Luck to You and thanks for asking,
James Gallant, Marquette County (MI) Suicide Prevention Coalition
mqtsuicidepreventioncoalition@gmail.com 906-360-3045