TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A recently published study shows emergency room visits found an increase in attempted suicides among young girls.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the study and found that the number of girls between ages 10 and 14 visiting the hospital from self injuries tripled from 2009 to 2015.
Chelsi Pender, a social worker with Capital Regional Medical Center says the most common form of self-injury among this group is drug overdoses.
Pender adds, today kids are exposed to more stressors at a younger age and that may plays a role in this new statistic. Children are using social media and constantly talking to their friends, opening the door to cyberbullying, which leads to increased stress.
Chelsi Pender notes,"Kids often don't think we have stress or that we have our own issues. I think showing them, 'hey, I'm human too' and this is all normal but you need to learn how to cope with it in a healthy way."
Pender says, the pre-teen group can be complicated because they are hormonal. Parents are then faced with the challenge of noticing an at-risk teenager.
According to Pender, children should use positive ways to cope with stress, like extra-curricular activities, hobbies and spending quality family time.
