Investigative Reports: Teenage Suicide - The Silent Threat

This documentary, part of the A&E Investigative Reports series, explores how and why teenage suicide has spiraled out of control in past decades. Since the 1950s, the number of teenage suicide victims has tripled. Narrated by series producer and host Bill Kurtis, this episode features interviews with a trouble teenager who speaks about why she wants to end her own life. Family members of teens who succeeded in suicide speak about the warning signs and how easy the signs are to overlook or mistake for teen angst. Experts Dr. David Shaffer, a Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at Columbia University, and Dr. Kay Redfield-Jamison, the author of The Unquiet Mind, talk about the clinical aspects of this horrible phenomenon. Investigative Reports also highlights what some communities are doing about the epidemic, such as starting programs where teens can get together with licensed professionals to talk over their problems. ~ Cecilia Cygnar