“About every 18 minutes, someone in the United States commits suicide” (Flanders 3). Ranking tenth among the leading causes of death in the United States, suicide claims the lives of more than thirty thousand people every year (Flanders 3). There has recently 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, it is possible to identify the causes and help prevent further deaths. Due to the combination of multiple factors in an individual, suicidal act can occur (The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine). Over 90 percent of suicides are the result of a mental illness at the time of death (Caruso). The most common of these mental illnesses is depression (Caruso). Although some individuals appear to have happy lives, some are genetically predisposed to depression (Caruso). With this in mind, some people commit suicide due to depression caused by genetics (Caruso). However, most suicides that rarely occur are due to a single cause. (Caruso). Multiple undesirable life experiences trigger these cases (Caruso). “This may include; death of a loved one, divorce, separation, breakup, loss of custody of children, illness, etc.". (Caruso). Once again, the main cause of depression is untreated depression, caused by one or more of these life experiences (Caruso). “Suicide only affects people of a certain gender, race, financial status, age, etc.” (Caruso)? Suicide can affect anyone (Caruso). Statistics show that men had a suicide rate of 20.5% while women had a suicide rate of 5.2% (Flanders 23). This proves that both genders commit suicide. Women, despite their low suicide rate... middle of paper ......vors (Flanders 38). Helping prevent deaths and studying the causes of suicide are an important part of today's society. When studying 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 Cited Brent, David A., Emily Jane Willingham, and Rebecca J. Frey. "Suicide." The Encyclopedia of Gale Medicine. Ed. Laurie J. Fundukain. 4th ed. vol. 5. Detroit: Gale, 2011. 4203-4210. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Network. October 31, 2011.Caruso, Kevin. "Causes of suicide". Suicide.org. Network. November 9, 2011. .Caruso, Kevin. “Myths About Suicide.” Suicide.org. Network. November 9, 2011. .Flanders, Stephen A. Suicide. New York: Facts on File, 1991. Print.