Experts worry that rate has not changed much for those under 20, with a rise between 1998 and 2000
MORE groups are in place to counsel troubled youngsters, but the suicide rate among those under 20 is not falling, and this is concerning psychologists.
Of the 1,723 people who killed themselves between 2000 and 2004, 88, or 5 per cent, were aged 20 and under.
The suicide rate has not changed much since 1995, when fewer help groups - such as counsellors in schools and in neighbourhood civic groups - existed. In fact, the 1998 to 2000 period saw a rise in suicide rates among males and females aged under 20.
Dr Alex Su, head of emergency services at the Institute of Mental Health, said this trend is 'worrying'.
He said: These are young, healthy people. They should not want to die. And they can get help, yet they choose to kill themselves. We need to look at how to build their resilience, and find protective factors, instead of waiting for things to happen.'
He added that although a network of counseling and support services for troubled youths is already in place in the schools and neighbourhoods, 'in reality, there are still youths who fall through the cracks. There may be new factors, areas that can be addressed better, like how they handle stress or breakups'.
He said Singapore needs a more coordinated national plan to bring down suicide rates.
Many other countries already have these. In Britain, for example, the national plan sets a time frame for bringing down the rate to a particular level; it also outlines specific roles that agencies handling potential victims should play.
Citing an example of a teen who overdoses on drugs but survives, he explained that with roles spelt out, the hospital would be the teen's first stop so that his injuries can be treated. After this, he is passed on to an in-house psychiatrist.
If the teen is still considered at a moderately high risk of making another attempt on his life, the Institute of Mental Health gets on board. Down the line, the relevant ministries and family service centres will track the case.
Dr Su said that in Singapore, these protocols have not been formalised.
So why do the young choose to end it all?
Psychologist Chia Boon Hock, who has been studying Singapore's suicide figures between 2000 and 2004, says 'life events' such as getting into relationships or doing badly at school are frequently factors.
Failed relationships were why 56.8 per cent of the under 20s killed themselves in that five-year period. Another 25 per cent did so because of problems with studies; 9 per cent had money troubles.
Legal problems plagued 4.5 per cent, and job-related problems, another 1.1 per cent.
But he qualified that very often, a complex of reasons rather than one single one pushes a suicide over the edge.
Another trend he has noted: More young suicides are leaving behind suicide notes nowadays.
Among suicides aged between 10 and 24 from 2000 to 2004, a good 46.5 per cent left notes. Back between 1969 and 1976, only 23 per cent of young suicides in this same age group did so.
Dr Su said these notes are getting longer and more expressive, because 'people are getting more literate and more anxious to express what they were going through'.
'Young people want others to understand why they are doing the things they do, to justify their actions to family and friends ... The elderly are less emotional about their decision to kill themselves.'
One other trend that shows the sign of the times: suicide notes being sent via SMS.
Dr Chia counted 16 SMS suicide notes in 2004 - 13 of them in English, three in Chinese.
Back in 2001, there were just seven. In all, 45 suicides between 2001 and 2004 chose SMS as a way to say goodbye, mostly to a parent or a partner.
'Almost everyone has a phone and can SMS, so it's now the way people talk,' said Dr Chia, who expects this number to go up.
Suicides by the young will be one key area up for discussion at the 2nd Asia Pacific Suicide Prevention Conference to be held this weekend.
arti@sph.com.sg
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Despite more help, suicide rate for young has not fallen
Teens Committing Suicide
Hi everyone, here is my first blog entry of the year. The article can be found at http://newslink.asiaone.com/user/OrderArticleRequest.action?order=&_sourcePage=%2FWEB-INF%2Fjsp%2Fuser%2Fsearch_type_result.jsp&month=03&year=2006&date=09&docLanguage=en&documentId=nica_ST_2006_3671115
I will also paste the article on my blog...
According to an article published in the Straits Times on the 9th of March 2006, teenagers constitute a large number of people committing suicide in Singapore and the number just doesn’t seem to be decreasing. 5 percent of people who committed suicide between 2000 and 2004 were all below 20 years of age. Besides revealing shocking statistics on the number of teenagers that have fallen prey to suicide, the article also explores the systems that the government has put in place for people on the brink of suicide and the common reasons why people commit suicide, such as failed relationships, academic problems and the like.
What do we need to do to overcome the problem of teenagers committing suicide? The answer is simple – we need to understand why teenagers resort to such dire consequences. Even though suicide is generally disapproved of by society, we should be open to the views of people on the brink of suicide.
One thing we must steer clear of is immediate condemnation. Providing a listening ear has become increasingly essential in today’s day and age because many teenagers are following the trend of being “emo”, which is short for “emotional”. In other words, more teenagers are expressing signs of angst and depression nowadays. Some parents react to this shift in teens’ attitudes in a harsh manner by punishing their children, for example. However, what they do not realise is that this might worsen the situation. Being a teenager myself, I’ve met teenagers who have secluded themselves from their families because their parents did not react properly to the changes in their behaviour. If we don’t learn to sit down with teens showing angst and signs of depression and talk with them, they will never be able to solve their problems and as a result, they might commit suicide.
Of course, when I say “we”, I don’t mean just anybody. We need people who are experienced in dealing with teenagers with problems. I am aware that many secondary schools have professional counselors to handle these problems. However, I’m of the opinion that more needs to be done. Usually, counselors are situated in offices, waiting for students with problems to approach them. I don’t believe that counselors should be restricted to offices. I feel that counselors should be amongst students in their work and play. That’s why many teachers make excellent counselors – they know what teenagers go through in school. Of course, I’m not suggesting that all teachers double up as counselors as well – that would be an administrative disaster and would mean a whole lot more work for teachers as well.
I’ll end with this. People resort to suicide as a way to escape from the pressures of life. That is why resilience needs to be inculcated in Singaporeans from young. This can be achieved by supporting teenagers in their endeavours and encouraging them to be positive in every situation, no matter how bleak it may be.
True strength is found in a positive, joyful attitude.