I read something years ago that stuck with me. I have no idea where I read this or what exactly it was-- probably some newspaper or magazine article.
The question was, why do the children of upper class or generally privileged backgrounds commit suicide at a much higher rate than the children of poverty or generally disadvantaged backgrounds? It seems counter-intuitive.
The answer, or at least the working theory, was that children of privilege are only taught to succeed. If they fail in some way, even if they only fall short of high expectations that may be unrealistic, they have no coping mechanisms to deal with that.
Whereas children of disadvantage are taught (or learn on their own) how to survive and get by, no matter what. They are much more mentally and emotionally equipped to deal with setbacks and disappointments in life.
Well, it turns out, you’re right for calling me out, it strongly appears after 10 seconds of googling that it’s not true. Like I said, the article I read years ago stuck with me, but it made an impression on me based on that primary assumption. I guess I should have googled the basic premise before posting that, not now. Mea culpa.
I googled:
“is the suicide rate higher among children with privileged upbringing compared to children raised in poverty”
AI summaries of course can be suspect, but in this case it accurately summarizes all the host of linked results I saw, so I’ll paste the summary:
Suicide rates are higher among children and youths raised in poverty compared to those from more privileged backgrounds. Research consistently shows a strong association between higher county-level poverty and increased rates of pediatric suicide.
Key Findings
Increased Risk: Children and adolescents in communities where 20% or more of the population lives below the federal poverty level are approximately 37% more likely to die by suicide compared to those in wealthier communities.
Stepwise Increase: The rate of suicide increases in a “stepwise fashion” as poverty concentration increases; as poverty rates rise, so does the rate of suicide.
Method Disparity: The link between poverty and suicide is particularly strong for suicides involving firearms, which were found to be 87% more likely in high-poverty areas.
Risk Factors: Poverty is associated with various risk factors for suicide, including:
Lack of access to essential mental and physical health care resources.
Exposure to “adverse childhood experiences” such as family conflict, violence, abuse, and parental unemployment or mental illness. Financial strain and social isolation.
Greater likelihood of experiencing emotional difficulties like depression and anxiety.
I’d like to point out one thing (not just to you, but in general), because the distinction is important to me. I did not say, nor was it my intention to imply, that the assertion in your post was wrong. I was asking “how do you know?”
So if you had looked it up and been proved correct, that would have been just as good an answer as far as I am concerned. And I think I would have been just as right to ask.
Yeah that is trivially true. Almost every single health or quality of life indicator shows this. Even to the point of it being a confounding factor in a lot of studies (where some measured value appears to have an effect on health but actual it’s just an in indicator of wealth or lack of it)
Though that’s not necessarily related to the OP it’s not that richer kids, or even the richest kids have more problems than other kids, its the children of celebrities. There are effects of being the child of a celebrity that are different from being a rich kid.
Should also point out that Nick Reiner is being reported as being schizophrenic. There are very few little environmental factors behind that (factors like PTSD or drug use are linked to symptoms starting earlier, but do not cause it). So If the reporting is accurate then the fact he was a celebrity’s son had nothing to do with it.