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Lee D, Jung S, Park S, Lee K, Kweon YS, Lee EJ, Yoon KH, Cho H, Jung H, Kim AR, Shin BR, Hong HJ. Youth Suicide in Korea Across the Educational Stages. CRISIS 2019; 41:187-195. [PMID: 31512944 DOI: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Background: Youth suicides have diverse characteristics according to the young people's developmental stages. Warning signs and communication of suicidal intent can be vague among early adolescents, while mental health problems may be more evidently related to suicidal ideation in older adolescents. Understanding the developmental characteristics of youth suicide is necessary for effective suicide prevention. Aims: We explored the differences between children and adolescents who died by suicide and the characteristics of these young people as observed by their school teachers. Method: We analyzed teachers' mandatory postmortem reports of suicides among 308 Korean students. We compared: suicide-related information including personal, familial, and school factors; stressful life events; and participation in interventions among elementary, middle, and high school students who died by suicide. We also assessed the distribution of student suicides per month. Results: Suicide among elementary school students increased during school vacations, and suicide among middle and high school students increased during the school semester. According to the teachers' reports, elementary school students who died by suicide were more extroverted and had better academic achievements than their high school peers, and had significantly lower levels of substance/tobacco use. Elementary school students who died by suicide showed significantly less academic stress and use of external professional help than did other groups. Limitations: Because this research is based on mandatory teacher reports, the subjective opinions of teachers may have affected the reliability of the data. Suicide by out-of-school youth was not included. Conclusion: School-based suicide prevention should be implemented in accordance with young people's developmental characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dayoung Lee
- Suicide and School Mental Health Institute, Hallym University, Anyang, South Korea
| | - Song Jung
- Suicide and School Mental Health Institute, Hallym University, Anyang, South Korea
| | - Seongjun Park
- Suicide and School Mental Health Institute, Hallym University, Anyang, South Korea
| | - KangWoo Lee
- Suicide and School Mental Health Institute, Hallym University, Anyang, South Korea
| | - Yong-Sil Kweon
- Suicide and School Mental Health Institute, Hallym University, Anyang, South Korea.,Department of Psychiatry, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Eun-Jin Lee
- Social Welfare Department, Suwon Science College, Hwaseong, South Korea
| | - Kyung Hee Yoon
- Suicide and School Mental Health Institute, Hallym University, Anyang, South Korea
| | - Hannah Cho
- Psychological Consultation for Children, Sookmyung Women's University, Graduate School of Child Welfare & Studies, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Hyeji Jung
- Suicide and School Mental Health Institute, Hallym University, Anyang, South Korea
| | - Ah Reum Kim
- Suicide and School Mental Health Institute, Hallym University, Anyang, South Korea
| | - Bo-Ram Shin
- Suicide and School Mental Health Institute, Hallym University, Anyang, South Korea
| | - Hyun Ju Hong
- Suicide and School Mental Health Institute, Hallym University, Anyang, South Korea.,Department of Psychiatry, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Anyang, South Korea
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Aguilar-Velázquez DG, González-Castro TB, Tovilla-Zárate CA, Juárez-Rojop IE, López-Narváez ML, Frésan A, Hernández-Díaz Y, Guzmán-Priego CG. Gender differences of suicides in children and adolescents: Analysis of 167 suicides in a Mexican population from 2003 to 2013. Psychiatry Res 2017; 258:83-87. [PMID: 28992550 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.09.083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2017] [Revised: 07/12/2017] [Accepted: 09/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Suicide is the second cause of death in youth population. The aim of the present study was to analyze demographic characteristics and suicide methods used, as well as to identify gender differences among Mexican children and adolescents (aged 10-17 years) that committed suicide. Between January 2003 and December 2013, 167 suicides of children and adolescents between 10 and 17 years of age were documented by the Secretary of Health of the state of Tabasco, Mexico. All sociodemographic characteristics were compared according to gender. Our sample included 67.7% males and 32.3% females (male to female 2.1:1). The predominant marital status was single (89.6%) and hanging (93.7%) was the principal method of suicide used. Both female and male adolescents were predominantly students (50%); however, female adolescents were more frequently married (17%) and were housewives (26.4%). Our results identified that hanging is the principal suicide method used by children and adolescents in Mexican population; we also detected main gender differences in terms of poisoning/drug toxicity as the method used, occupation and marital status. These results should be taken into consideration when designing suicide prevention programs due to the differences found by gender.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Thelma Beatriz González-Castro
- Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, División Académica Multidisciplinaria de Jalpa de Méndez, Jalpa de Méndez, Tabasco, Mexico
| | - Carlos Alfonso Tovilla-Zárate
- Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, División Académica Multidisciplinaria de Comalcalco, Comalcalco, Tabasco, Mexico.
| | - Isela E Juárez-Rojop
- Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, División Académica de Ciencias de la Salud, Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico
| | | | - Ana Frésan
- Subdirección de Investigaciones Clínicas, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Yazmin Hernández-Díaz
- Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, División Académica Multidisciplinaria de Jalpa de Méndez, Jalpa de Méndez, Tabasco, Mexico
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Zanus C, Battistutta S, Aliverti R, Montico M, Cremaschi S, Ronfani L, Monasta L, Carrozzi M. Adolescent Admissions to Emergency Departments for Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0170979. [PMID: 28125701 PMCID: PMC5268645 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2016] [Accepted: 01/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The objective of the present study was to describe the incidence and the characteristics of Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors (SITBs), among adolescents aged 11–18 admitted, over a two year period, to all the Emergency Departments of a Region of North-eastern Italy through a comprehensive analysis of medical records. A two-step search was performed in the regional ED electronic database. First, we identified the cases that had been clearly diagnosed as SITBs by an Emergency Department physician. Secondly, suspect cases were detected through a keyword search of the database, and the medical records of these cases were hand screened to identify SITBs. The mean annual incidence rate of SITBs was 90 per 100,000 adolescents aged 11–18 years. Events were more frequent in females. Drug poisoning was the most frequently adopted method (54%). In 42% of cases a diagnosis of SITB was not explicitly reported by the physician. In 65% of cases adolescents were discharged within hours of admission. Only 9% of patients started a psychiatric assessment and treatment program during hospital stay. This research confirms the high incidence of SITBs among adolescents and highlights the difficulty in their proper diagnosis and management. Such difficulty is confirmed by the fact that only a few patients, even among those with a clear diagnosis, were sent for psychiatric assessment. Correct identification and management of SITB patients needs to be improved, since SITBs are an important public health problem in adolescence and one of the main risk factors for suicide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caterina Zanus
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health – IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, Trieste, Italy
| | - Sara Battistutta
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health – IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, Trieste, Italy
| | - Renata Aliverti
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health – IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, Trieste, Italy
| | - Marcella Montico
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health – IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, Trieste, Italy
| | - Silvana Cremaschi
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Service, ASS4 Medio Friuli, Udine, Italy
| | - Luca Ronfani
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health – IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, Trieste, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Monasta
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health – IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, Trieste, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Marco Carrozzi
- Institute for Maternal and Child Health – IRCCS “Burlo Garofolo”, Trieste, Italy
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