Risks of suicide in adopted adolescentsIn a recent article published by Fox News it is stated that a new study shows a relationship between suicidal tendencies and adopted adolescents. This article is based on a Swedish study that found that adopted children attempt suicide more often and on a similar study conducted at the University of Minnesota by Margaret Keyes, a psychologist on American adopted children. The article points out that studies do not directly show that all adopted children will attempt suicide or have suicidal thoughts and tendencies, rather they raise the question of why children have these feelings and thoughts. The Minnesota study shows that during the three years of the study 56 participants attempted suicide, of the fifty-six attempts 47 were adopted. And when self-harm was taken into account, adopted children showed a 3.7-fold increase compared to non-adopted children (Fox, 2013). This article presents several areas that require further investigation to explain the relationship between adoption and suicide. Suicide is currently the third leading cause of death among adolescents aged 10 to 24 (Fox, 2013) and these studies can perhaps lead to an explanation and a prevention program to allow parents and psychologists to see the factors of risk before they are too. too late to act. While it is stated that this study was not diverse enough to generalize across the nation, several troubling questions arise. Why are adopted children more likely to be at risk for suicidal behavior and attempts? Are there other factors contributing to the risk? Are children adopted abroad at higher risk than domestic ones? However, one question is easy to answer: it is not the stereotypical "adolescent angst... middle of the paper... from http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/11/ adolescents-adopted- may-be-at-greater-risk-of-suicide/Reinoso, M., Juffer, F., & Tieman, W. (2013). Children's and parents' thoughts and feelings about adoption, cultural identity birth and discrimination in families with adopted children internationally. Developmental Psychology, 18(3), 264-274. Retrieved from http://ejournals.ebsco.com.logon.lynx.lib.usm.edu/Direct. asp?AccessToken=9IIIMIJ8X5D5KEREZM4EMUQ4D9PK8X5QIX&Show=ObjectWilcox, H. C., Kuramoto, J., Brent, D. & Runeson, B. (2012 , 031). adoptees on hospitalizations for suicide attempts of adoptees. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 169(3), 309-315. Retrieved from http://ejournals.ebsco.com.logon.lynx.lib.usm.edu/Direct. asp?AccessToken=2999F9A8S9FHBA9ZF1HYZEXLMZHH8S319S&Show=Object