But there are family factors that are preventable. Nearly three-quarters of all suicide attempters come from unstable family situations characterized by divorce, separation, talk of divorce, fatherlessness, substance abuse, isolation, or lack of support. Answers, like the problems, are often complex. Kids interpret lack of time or intimacy as rejection. Most of the teenagers who attempt suicide claim they can remember no adult to whom they ever felt close.
Some kids point to the lack of a loving father figure in the home.
In many of these cases, the father has been physically present but emotionally detached and unwilling to interact or provide spiritual direction. In other cases one or both parents have been hypercritical. So now I shall dwell in my world where only escape will rest me here. . . One of the greatest gifts that we can give our children is our time. Time together fosters an openness on their part and unclogs the lines of parent-teen communication.