From Parental Pressure to Suicide

On April 17, 2019, a 17-year-old male committed suicide on Lu-Pu Bridge, Shanghai. It is reported that he chose to jump off the bridge after his mother scolded and verbally abused him due to a fight caused in-school among the boy and his friends. This is evidence of the immensely high parental pressure in East Asian countries such as China.

While driving home, the boy’s mother continuously scolded him for being irresponsible, a disappointment, and so on. Not long after, she stopped the car in order to discourage him further in the backseat. Having enough of his mothers’ verbal abuse, the teenage boy ran out of the car, to the periphery of the Lu-Pu bridge, and jumped off.

The comment sections of articles about this incident have blown up. Some stood on the mothers’ side and discussed how inappropriate it was for the son to just commit suicide without thinking about how devastated the mother would be; how immature it was for the son to act impulsively. However, some have commented on how this is a result of bad parenting. Some criticize the mother and how she should not have scolded him on the way home. As a teenager, I personally understand why the boy chose to commit suicide in such an impulsive manner. If I were to blame someone for this incident, it would be the mother. If the mother just held her words for 30 minutes, the boy would not have chosen to commit suicide. If she chose to think more compassionately, she might have not scolded him so aggressively. This may have lowered the severity of the consequences that she had to endure.

This is not the only case of suicide among teens due to parental pressure in East Asian countries — especially China. A senior in a local Chinese high-school committed suicide during the “night review” sessions in school, on March 13, 2014. This boy’s family is reported to be on the poor side and he seemed to have been forced into studying maths and science although his grades for English and literature were higher, despite being in “理科,” or the science department at school. This is extremely common in East Asian countries, as studying science and maths can land young professionals positions such as doctors and scientists — jobs that can earn a great deal of money.

Although these and similar incidents are broadcast on news media, the teenage suicide rate in China has not decreased in recent years. Is parental pressure an issue to be seriously evaluated, or is this topic simply out of the public’s mind these days? In my opinion, although pressure can be good for teenagers as it may motivate and encourage them, once it gets out of hand or overwhelming, it can cause serious negative consequences, such as feelings of low self-worth, or even self-harm and suicide.