[ANSWER]Contemporary Issues for Children and Families Assessment 2 – Written Essay: Using Systems Thinking to Address Youth Suicide in Australia: A Multicomponent Intervention

[ANSWER PREVIEW]

Using Systems Thinking to Address Youth Suicide in Australia: A Multicomponent Intervention

In 2019, the number of suicide-related deaths in children and adolescents aged 5-17 years in Australia was 96 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2021). Eighty percent of these deaths occurred in adolescents aged 15-17 years (AIHW, 2021). This suggests that older teenagers [ Youth Suicide in Australia ] are far more likely to commit suicide than any other group of young people in Australia. Thus, in efforts to address youth suicide in the country, greater attention ought to be paid to adolescents in the 15-17-years age group.

While individual factors such as gender, mental and physical illness, a weak sense of self-worth, coping deficits, and alcohol/substance abuse increase the risk for suicide in children and adolescents, non-individual factors may play a much more potent role (House of Representatives, Standing Committee on Health and Ageing, 2011; Islam et al., 2020).

Familial factors (abuse and violence from parents, parental conflict, economic strain, loss of a loved one, homelessness, and history of mental illness and suicide), incarceration, peer rejection, and social isolation are among the major non-individual risk factors for youth suicide (Dickson et al., 2019; Hill et al., 2020; McNamara, 2013; Rufino & Patriquin, 2019; Wasserman et al., 2020). For example, research has shown that family conflicts are major triggers for suicide in children and adolescents (Oprescu et al., 2017).

Experiencing abuse and violence outside the home setting (e.g., in school and the neighbourhood), encountering discrimination, failure in school, and lack of social support can also lead children and adolescents to commit suicide (House of Representatives, Standing Committee on Health and Ageing, 2011).

A closer look at the factors that increase the risk for youth suicide [ Youth Suicide in Australia ] suggests that the problem is not entirely an individual issue – it is a far complex problem that includes social and environmental dimensions as well. Even when there are protective factors at the individual level, such as good physical and mental wellbeing, there are factors within their child’s or adolescent’s social world that could expose…[Buy Full Answer for Just USD 9: 3241 WORDS][Youth Suicide in Australia]

[SOLUTION DESCRIPTION]

Type: Essay

Word Count: 3241

Grade/Mark: 87 (Distinction)

GradedSolution