Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T08:37:09.282Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Recent Trends in Suicide Amongst the Young

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

G. M. G. McClure
G. M. G. McClure*
Affiliation:
Earls Court Child Guidance Unit, 25 Stratford Road, London, W8; (The Adolescent Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Suicide is rare under 14 years but thereafter increases with increasing age, with males predominating. The suicide rate for 15–19 year olds in England and Wales has increased since the nineteen fifties for both males and females, with a recent substantial rise in males. There has also been an increase in the small number of female suicides aged 10–14 years between 1941–50 and 1971–80. In younger age groups there is a higher proportion of undetermined deaths compared with officially recorded suicides, and this category has recently increased disproportionately in the young. The number of deaths by poisoning with solids or liquids recorded as suicide, accidental poisoning or undetermined poisoning has increased markedly in young people, and the relationship between the three groups might repay investigation.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 144 , Issue 2 , February 1984 , pp. 134 - 138
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adelstein, A. & Mardon, C. (1975) Suicides 1961–74. Population Trends, No. 2. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Brooke, E. M. (1974) Suicide and Attempted Suicide. Public Health Paper No. 58. Geneva: World Health Organisation.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Farmer, R. D. T. (1980) The relationship between suicide and parasuicide. In: The Suicide Syndrome (eds. Farmer, and Hirsch, ). London: Croom Helm, pp. 19–37.Google Scholar
Garfinkel, B. D., Froese, A. & Hood, J. (1982) Suicide attempts in children and adolescents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 10, 1257–61.Google Scholar
Hawton, K. & Goldacre, M. (1982) Hospital admissions for adverse effects of medicinal agents (mainly self-poisoning) among adolescents in the Oxford region. British Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 166–70.Google Scholar
Holding, T. A. & Barraclough, B. M. (1975) Psychiatric morbidity in a sample of a London coroner's open verdicts. British Journal of Psychiatry, 127, 133–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holding, T. A. & Barraclough, B. M. (1977) Psychiatric morbidity in a sample of accidents. British Journal of Psychiatry, 130, 244–52.Google Scholar
Holding, T. A. & Barraclough, B. M. (1978) Undetermined deaths—suicide or accident? British Journal of Psychiatry, 133, 542–9.Google Scholar
Holding, T. A., Bluglass, D., Duffy, J. C. & Kreitman, N. (1977) Parasuicide in Edinburgh—a seven year review 1968–74. British Journal of Psychiatry, 130, 534–43.Google Scholar
Holinger, P. C. (1978) Adolescent suicide: an epidemiological study of recent trends. American Journal of Psychiatry, 135, 754–6.Google ScholarPubMed
Holinger, P. C. (1979) Violent deaths among the young: recent trends in suicide, homicide and accidents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136, 9, 1144–7.Google Scholar
Jacobson, S., Bagley, C. & Rehin, A. (1976) Clinical and social variables which differentiate suicide, open and accident verdicts. Psychological Medicine, 6, 417–21.Google Scholar
Jennings, C. & Barraclough, B. (1980) Legal and administrative influences on the English suicide rate since 1900. Psychological Medicine, 10, 407–18.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kreitman, N. & Schreiber, M. (1979) Parasuicide in young Edinburgh women, 1968–75. Psychological Medicine, 9, 469–79.Google Scholar
Low, A. A., Farmer, R. D. T., Jones, D. R. & Rohde, J. R. (1981) Suicide in England and Wales: an analysis of 100 years 1876–1975. Psychological Medicine, 11, 359–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McClure, G. M. G. (1983) Trends in suicide rate for England and Wales. 1975–80 British Journal of Psychiatry, (in press).Google Scholar
Office of Health Economics (1981) Suicide and Deliberate Self-harm. London: O. H. E. White Crescent Press.Google Scholar
Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (1974–80) Mortality Statistics: Cause. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (1975) Trends in Mortality. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Otto, V. (1972) Suicidal acts by children and adolescents: a follow-up study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. Supplement 233.Google Scholar
Registrar General (1950–73) Statistical Review for England and Wales. Part 1, Tables: Medical. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Sainsbury, P., Jenkins, J. & Levey, A. (1980) The social correlates of suicide in Europe. In: The Suicide Syndrome, (eds. Farmer, and Hirsch, ). London: Croom Helm, pp. 38–53.Google Scholar
Sainsbury, P., Jenkins, J. (1982) The accuracy of officially reported suicide statistics for purposes of epidemiological research. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 36, 43–8.Google Scholar
Shaffer, D. (1974) Suicide in childhood and early adolescence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 15, 275–91.Google Scholar
Shaffer, D. & Fisher, P. (1981) The epidemiology of suicide in children and young adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 20, 545–65.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.