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How to Save a Life: Adolescents and the Arts

Being something that biologically, everyone must endure, most understand the trials and tribulations associated with adolescence. With so much change in such a short amount of time, it’s no wonder why this time is associated as much with emotional turmoil as change. Whether physical, emotional, or psychological, the changes that happen during this time may be drastic and immensely taxing while they happen. Not dealt with correctly, they can result in mental and emotional issues, depression not the least among them.

If dealing with change isn’t hard enough, dealing with depression can prove to be fatal. Not given the proper attention and treatment, symptoms of depression can lead to dire physical and mental consequences, and even death. Unfortunately, this can often be the case for those going through depression during adolescence. Rather than seeking adequate medical or therapeutic action, many teens seek out substance abuse, self-harm, or even suicide as a means to cope with or end such debilitating effects.

According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, each year alcohol is responsible for about 5000 deaths by people under 21 in car accidents. Illegal drugs deliver a similar fate to adolescents. Suicide also proves to be a vast detriment to adolescents around the world. According to the CDC, suicide accounts for about 4600 adolescent deaths a year. These are all great tragedies that are completely preventable.

Of the several ways to prevent these tragedies, the easiest is education. People who have been through adolescence can and must educate those presently enduring it that there are ways other than the destructive means often adopted. Even solutions of a medical or therapeutic nature are only options. A much more promising and easily adopted option is involvement in art. Now, being that art is such a nebulous concept, I’ll clarify myself. There are two different kinds of arts that adolescents may become involved in. The first type of arts that are presented to teens are those programs sponsored by schools and churches. These are often the first arenas for the presentation of the arts to children. The other way that teens may come by their involvement in the arts is far more organic. Children may also find their way into the arts on their own or through the influences of their friends and family. Whichever way students find their way to them, the arts have powerful potential to give a like or greater solace to teens than the more destructive path of self-harm and substance abuse.

The arts can benefit teens’ development substantially in many different ways. According to the National Endowment for the Arts, being involved in the arts during high school can improve a teen’s academic record, civic involvement, and give them higher career goals. Since withdrawal, academic decline, and loss of motivation are effects of the symptoms of depression, these positive benefits of the arts show their effects on the psyche of teens. Even for those who would shun school sponsored arts programs, involvement out of these shows promising results. According to a study by the Arts Education Partnership involvement in arts outside of school programs may have even greater benefits to students. The prime finding of this study was that in the venue of the arts, teens were able to create supportive groups and connections between peers. This is a valuable skill to have when dealing with all the issues that come with adolescence.

With all these benefits in mind, I have a charge to urge to all those who would serve as elders to adolescents. To voters, it would be to support arts programs in schools. These are often the first things to be cut in times of monetary hardship. More importantly, to parents and teachers, it would be to encourage your children to find the arts on their own. These simple, seemingly ineffectual actions could save the life of some teen. It could be your child, that of a friend or family member, or a friend of your child, but nonetheless, your influence could save their life.

 

 

 

Sources:

http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/special-populations-co-occurring-disorders/underage-drinking

http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/youth_suicide.html

http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-health-topics/substance-abuse/illicit-and-non-drug-use.html

http://www.artsedsearch.org/summaries/graffiti-poetry-dance-how-public-library-art-programs-affect-teens

http://arts.gov/news/2012/new-nea-research-report-shows-potential-benefits-arts-education-risk-youth