Suicide Belt: Rates up for Affluent Teens

The 20-mile stretch of lakefront along Chicago’s affluent North Shore is known among local therapists as the “suicide belt”. In 1978-79, 28 local teenagers killed themselves. Chicago psychiatrists Mary Giffin & Harold Visotsky speculate on reasons for the extremely high suicide rate among wealthy area teens. Ideas such as family breakdown, high parental expectations, lack of parental love & understanding, loneliness, and difficulty staying on the top of the social ladder are put forth.