SUICIDE (Josh McDowell research 2005 and prior) âHELPING OTHERSâ âHelping Othersâ âA powerful impulse to serve other people and society as a whole pervades many of the comments of those interviewed.â âA 16-year-old girl in New Jersey said: âMy purpose in life is to help other people. I get the most amazing feeling when I can help someone less fortunate than me.ââ âA 17-year-old girl in Kentucky answered along similar lines: âI think that my purpose in life is to help people. Iâve gone through hard times myself, and I canât even imagine the situations some kids are in â much worse even than the life that Iâve had growing up. I think that as long as I have the ability, and want to help people, thatâs what I should do.ââ âA 14-year-old boy in Wisconsin said: âSo far in my life, Iâve been the one some people come to with their problems. Probably because I donât complain or make fun of them if itâs a serious problem. From what I hear, I guess I give good advice and am pretty understanding.ââ âA 17-year-old female Utah resident commented: âEveryone is here to fill in the holes in other peopleâs lives, whether little or big holes. Not everybody is the same, and we all need to share our talents and strengths to uplift other people.ââ (George H. Gallup Jr., âHow many Teens See a Purpose for Life?â The Gallup Organization, April 6, 2004; www.gallup.com/content/print.aspx?ci=11215) ______________________ âYOU SAVED A LIFE TODAY. MINE.â ï·
âThe number of youth ages 13-14 who committed suicide in the U.S. equaled the number who were murdered.â
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âOf the juveniles who committed suicide, 66% of the males and 62% of the females were 17 years old.â
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âSixty-two percent of juvenile suicides were committed with a firearm, 24% resulted from suffocation (primarily hanging), and 10% were caused by poisoning.â
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âWhile more than half of both boys (65%) and girls (51%) committed suicide with a firearm, girls were far more likely than boys to use poison (25% versus 6%, respectively).â
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âFirearms were used more often in the suicides of white (63%) and black (64%) juveniles than in the suicides of American Indian (45%) and Asian (46%) juveniles.â
Suicide â Research 2005 and prior
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