“About every 18 minutes, someone commits suicide in the United States” (Flanders 3). Ranked tenth among the leading causes of death in the United States, suicide claims the lives of more than thirty thousand people per year (Flanders 3). Recently, there has been an increase in self-destructive behavior among young adults (Flanders 3). “Almost everyone in the United States has been touched in some way by suicide” (Flanders 20). By studying the social issue of suicide, we can identify the causes and help prevent more deaths. Due to the combination of several factors in an individual, the act of suicide can occur (The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine). More than 90 percent of suicides are the result of mental illness at the time of their death (Caruso). Depression is the most common among these mental illnesses (Caruso). Although some people seem to have happy lives, some are genetically predisposed to depression (Caruso). With this in mind, some people commit suicide due to genetically caused depression (Caruso). However, most suicides are rarely due to a single cause. (Caruso). Multiple adverse life experiences trigger these cases (Caruso). “This may include; death of a loved one, divorce, separation, break-up, loss of custody of children, illness, etc. (Caruso). Again, the main cause of depression is untreated depression, caused by one or more of these life experiences (Caruso). “Suicide only happens to people of a certain gender, race, financial situation, age, etc. » (Caruso)? Suicide can strike anyone (Caruso). Statistics show that men had a suicide rate of 20.5 percent while women had a suicide rate of 5.2 percent (Flanders 23). This shows that both sexes commit suicide. Women, despite their low suicide rate...... middle of paper ......vors (Flanders 38). Helping to prevent deaths and studying the causes of suicide represent a large part of society today. In the study of suicide, researchers rely heavily on statistics. (Flanders 20) So who commits suicide? “Every type of person. Suicide affects all age, racial, professional, religious and social groups. (Flanders 20)Works CitedBrent, David A., Emily Jane Willingham and Rebecca J. Frey. "Suicide." The Scabies Encyclopedia of Medicine. Ed. Laurie J. Fundukain. 4th ed. Flight. 5. Detroit: Gale, 2011. 4203-4210. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Internet. October 31, 2011. Caruso, Kevin. “The causes of suicide”. Suicide.org. Internet. November 9, 2011. .Caruso, Kevin. “Myths about suicide.” Suicide.org. Internet. November 9, 2011. .Flanders, Stephen A. Suicide. New York: Facts on File, 1991. Print.