<p>Well, I will never call it a “sport.” Let’s not trivialize such a serious issue. One of my children’s best friends did leap to her death in college, and it had profound and enduring effects on lots of other people.</p>
<p>Well put…I wasn’t in any way trivializing the affect of suicide. I am echoing the reports of jumping and the seeming increase in that method.</p>
<p>FYI, there’s a link in the box to the right of this article that explains how the data was compiled.</p>
<p>While suicide is usually associated with a diagnosable mental illness, this is not always the case. The most likely explanation for the findings in the article is the high degree of stress that 1st year college students experience. The stress comes from a new environment, a change in eating and sleeping habits, increased interpersonal pressure, a lack of privacy, etc. Not only will freshman show increased signs of psychological disorder but also of physical disorder. It is now well documented that stress is a signficant predictor of who succumbs to cold viruses and other viruses. Although I do not know of any specific studies on the topic, in my own experience my children had many more illnesses during their first year of college than in subsequent years.</p>
<p>I know that stress contributes to illness- thats why you might get a cold when you are chilled, because your resistance is down, not because being cold makes you sick</p>
<p>My daughter was sickest junior year though, at her college that has been the toughest year so far, but organic chemistry will do that to you.</p>
<p>Not connected to a societal group can contribute to suicide…too connected as in Jim Jones kinda thing. Many new students loose their moorings and feel disconnected.</p>