title: Understanding adolescent suicide: a psychosocial interpretation of developmental and contextual factors.
abstract: Adolescent suicide remains an international tragedy, yet a common denominator continues to elude researchers. Some adolescents internalize rejection and respond with suicide; other troubled adolescents engage in homicide before ending their own lives. One factor underlying suicide concerns the failure to construct a healthy identity. Using Erikson's theories on identity development as a framework, this paper examines the motives for and contexts of suicide among preadolescents, adolescents, and young adults, identifies specific school-age populations that are vulnerable to suicide, and discusses implications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, University of Louisville, Kentucky 40292, USA.
authors.forename: Pedro R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Portes
authors.forename: Daya S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Sandhu
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Longwell-Grice
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D005389:Firearms; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D008297:Male; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012934:Social Isolation; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*