From Sawyer Sweeten To Corey Haim: The Psychological Curse Of Child Stardom

Sawyer Sweeten, left, with his twin brother, Sullivan, and older sister, Madylin. All were child stars on Everybody Loves Raymond.  (Photo: Getty Images)

Former child star Sawyer Sweeten, who played the twin Geoffrey Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond, died on Thursday of an apparent suicide. He was 19. Sweeten began his acting career at 16 months old, starring on the comedy, which ran from 1996 to 2005.

According to reports, Sweeten was visiting his family in Texas, where he is believed to have shot himself on their front porch on Thursday. Sweeten starred in the award-winning show as Geoffrey Barone.

The Sweeten brothers at the wrap party for Everybody Loves Raymond. (Photo: Getty Images)

Former child star Christy Carlson Romano, who starred in Woody Allen’s Everyone Says I Love You at age 12, summed the feelings of what many people who became famous as kids may be thinking:

Because unfortunately, Sweeten isn’t the first former child star to commit suicide. Rizzoli and Isles star Lee Thompson Young died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 29, Who’s the Boss? star Jonathan Brandis hanged himself at the age of 27. Kids star Justin Pierce hanged himself at the age of 25.

Lee Thompson Young and Jonathan Brandis. (Photos: Getty Images)

According to the Centers for Disease Control, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death for Americans, and men are four times more likely than women to commit suicide. That rate seems to be higher for former child stars — a disproportionate number of whom have either committed suicide willingly or accidentally via a drug overdose.

Diff’rent Strokes star Dana Plato spiraled into painkiller addiction, dying of an overdose at age 34. Christopher Pettiet, who played Christina Applegate’s little brother in Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead, died of an accidental overdose at age 24. Eighties teen heartthrob Corey Haim and Clueless star Brittany Murphy also fought public battles with addiction before succumbing to pneumonia at age 38 and 32, respectively.

Brittany Murphy, Corey Haim and Dana Plato. (Photos: Getty Images)

Then there’s an even longer list of child stars who have been troubled but are hanging on. Lindsay Lohan could be considered today’s poster child, but former The O.C. star Mischa Barton reportedly struggled with drug addiction and body issues, and had a stint in the psych ward. Full House’s Jodie Sweetin became addicted to methamphetamine and alcohol after the show ended, though she’s now clean and speaks publicly about addiction and recovery.

Related: “Why My Daughter, Who Lost Her Battle With Mental Illness, Is The Bravest Person I Have Ever Known”

And there’s Drew Barrymore, who, after turning to drugs at a very early age, was able to turn herself around and is now healthy and successful. But in the club of troubled child actors, unfortunately she’s an anomaly.

What is it about child stars that puts them at risk for being troubled — and even suicidal — later in life?

“They often go from the height of fame to the depth of living without it,” says trauma psychologist Charles Figley, chair of disaster and mental health at Tulane University. “It’s more than the rest of us have to face.”

Related: 15 Myths And Facts About Suicide And Depression

Child stars in particular are at risk because they often form their sense of self in the public eye, says clinical psychologist John Mayer. “These kids are kept from the developmental skill building that most kids go through to make them capable adults,” he tells Yahoo Health. “Such things as learning about rejection, loss, transitions, and the process of identity development are in limbo while the production companies unknowingly shelter them from those natural struggles a child or teen needs to go through.”

As a result, he says, these children don’t get the normal coping mechanisms that will help them get through the bumps and bruises of life as they get older. “They become ill-equipped, often dysfunctional adults,” Mayer says. “Many of these kids become adults with ‘holes’ in their development, and, at worst, they are emotional and social disasters.”

Child stars have fewer choices than other children their age due to work schedules and demands, Figley says, and also lead a restricted life full of structure and guidance. Consequently, it can become jarring for them when work dries up and they’re suddenly left to their own devices.

Related: The Careers That Put You At The Highest Risk For Suicide 

Also worth noting: Research published in the Journal of Personality Assessment found that child stars whose parents served as their professional managers viewed their mothers as less caring and more over-controlling than those whose parents were not their managers.

But Figley also thinks the struggles that child stars are facing now is a generational issue. “We have more mental health challenges now than we ever had before,” he says. Add that to the pressures of stardom or loss of fame after growing up with it, and you have a potential recipe for disaster.

But how does suicide factor in? Figley points out that we don’t really know why anyone commits suicide but says it’s primarily a combination of self-worth and self-perception — the degree to which we feel we’re worthy to continue living and the perception that if we do, things will get better. Former child stars who are out of the limelight are at a greater risk because their self-worth and self-perception could have been tied up in their fame. Without it, they may feel lost and suicidal.

Related: 15 Suicide-Attempt Survivors Tell Their Stories 

Frank Farley, a psychology professor at Temple University, says it’s crucial for parents of child stars to make sure their offspring form special bonds with family and friends, and to encourage them to seek professional counseling if emotional  issues develop.

If the child star’s career begins to wane, this support will be vital, he says. Farley also says it’s also a good idea for child stars with fading careers to use their skills in a different but related area, such as directing, writing, or teaching acting, in order to feel more of a sense of purpose.

Of course, not all child stars become troubled or suicidal. While we often hear about the tragic side of childhood fame, Figley points out that most child stars turn out just fine, despite the odds: “The tenacity and resilience of these children despite all of these enormous pressures is impressive.”

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