News That Affects You - Youth Magazine Staff - March 1985

Youth Magazine Staff

When a Friend Cries for Help by Janet Eddington and Lowell Wagner Jr. - Buckle Up -It's the Law by Robert C. Taylor - Ice Skating Without Ice! by Sandi Borax - Gone With the Solar Wind by Lowell Wagner Jr.: If your friend was thinking of taking his or her own life, where would he or she turn? The chances are, to you. One study showed that 93 percent of teenagers will turn first to a friend, rather than an adult, when thinking of suicide. One of the major triggers of teenage suicidal thoughts is a loss of some kind. Often, it is made worse by lack of family support. Dr. Barry Garfinkel, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, told the Associated Press: "When an adolescent is depressed or troubled and has no available adult, that compounds the situation. An adolescent may see suicide as the only way out, whereas adults could provide alternatives." - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library