a person’s potential career is at risk. One student in a report from the White House Conference on Children in 1970 maintains: “If I ever commit suicide, I’ll leave my school schedule behind as a suicide note” ( qtd. in Gardner and Rosenberg 50). This statement opened the eyes of the government as to the extent of pressure placed on adolescents by academics.A loss of self-worth or self-esteem is high on the at-risk list for teenagers. Because a sense of identity is often pretty shacked and fragile during adolescence, feelings of not being worth much in one’s parents eyes won’t help a young person’s self-esteem. In extreme cases the adolescent may look upon himself, as being despicable and worthless, and learn to hate himself, when he is unable able to reach their goals (Hafen 95). The Youth Suicide National Center feels that “few of them [adolescents] have found ways of dealing with the lack of self esteem and when these feelings overwhelm them, they believe there is something very wrong with them.” (qtd. in Hafen 23). After reading numerous books and articles, the plain, but simple truth is that no one knows exactly why teenagers kill themselves. Psychiatrists have, however, reached the conclusion that in a society where adolescents have been exposed to many adult pressures and stresses, they may not be able to cope. Some of the most common causes of stress revolve around family situations, social problems, depression, developmental factors, and other factors associated with adolescents. It is this unbearable stress that leads them to the act of suicide....
