A Comparative Study of Suicide Rates among 10–19-Year-Olds in 29 OECD Countries

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study had two main objectives: to compare current suicide rates in OECD countries among 10–19-year-olds and to identify patterns of suicide rates based on age, gender and time. Furthermore we investigated the main dimensions that contributed to the variation in child and adolescent suicide rates across countries. MethodsWe combined the WHO mortality data and the population data released by OECD to calculate the suicide rates in 29 OECD countries. A self-organizing map (SOM), k-means clustering analysis, and multi-dimensional scaling were used to classify countries based on similarities in suicide rate structure and to identify the important dimensions accounting for differences among groups. ResultsWe identified significant differences in suicide rates depending on age, sex, country, and time period. Late adolescence and male gender were universal risk factors for suicide, and we observed a general trend of declining suicide rates in OECD countries. The SOM analysis yielded eight types of countries. Most countries showed gender gaps in suicide rates of similar magnitudes; however, there were outliers in which the gender gap was particularly large or small. ConclusionSignificant variation exists with respect to suicide rates and their associated gender gaps in OECD countries.

Annual Research Review: A meta‐analytic review of worldwide suicide rates in adolescents

“…There are two important considerations when interpreting this rate: (a) Considerable heterogeneity was found in suicide mortality rates cross‐nationally (which we discuss in the next section), and (b) our analyses included all available high‐quality WHO mortality data, but only represent a subset of primarily Western countries worldwide (an issue we discuss in the Limitations section). However, this overall suicide rate among 10‐ to 19‐year‐olds is consistent with a prior study (Roh et al., ) that found a suicide rate of 3.94/100,000 people among 10‐ to 19‐year‐olds from 29 Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) countries during the period from 1995 to 2012. In addition, our 15‐ to 19‐year‐old rate of 6.04/100,000 people is similar, although lower, than the rate of 7.4/100,000 people found by Wasserman et al.…”

“…Elevated suicide rates were also reported among youth in Estonia and Uzbekistan, consistent with prior studies finding higher rates among youth living in former Soviet Union states (Bridge et al., ; Cha et al., ; Kõlves & De Leo, , ; McLoughlin et al., ; Roh et al., ; Wasserman et al., ). However, unlike New Zealand, little research has explored specific risk factors that contribute to high rates in these regions.…”

“…Using this database, Wasserman, Cheng, and Jiang () estimated a worldwide suicide rate for 15‐ to 19‐year‐olds of 7.4/100,000 people based on suicide mortality data collected in 1995 from 90 countries. The highest suicide rates in youth have been observed in New Zealand (Bridge et al., ; Cha et al., ; Kõlves & De Leo, ; McLoughlin, Gould, & Malone, ; Roh, Jung, & Hong, ), Finland (Bridge et al., ; Cha et al., ; McLoughlin et al., ; Roh et al., ), Ireland (Bridge et al., ; McLoughlin et al., ), Guyana (Kõlves & De Leo, ), Sri Lanka (Wasserman et al., ), and a range of former Soviet Union states (Bridge et al., ; Cha et al., ; Kõlves & De Leo, , ; McLoughlin et al., ; Roh et al., ; Wasserman et al., ). In addition, suicide rates are found to be higher in older versus younger youth (Bridge et al., ; Cha et al., ; Roh et al., ).…”

“…The highest suicide rates in youth have been observed in New Zealand (Bridge et al., ; Cha et al., ; Kõlves & De Leo, ; McLoughlin, Gould, & Malone, ; Roh, Jung, & Hong, ), Finland (Bridge et al., ; Cha et al., ; McLoughlin et al., ; Roh et al., ), Ireland (Bridge et al., ; McLoughlin et al., ), Guyana (Kõlves & De Leo, ), Sri Lanka (Wasserman et al., ), and a range of former Soviet Union states (Bridge et al., ; Cha et al., ; Kõlves & De Leo, , ; McLoughlin et al., ; Roh et al., ; Wasserman et al., ). In addition, suicide rates are found to be higher in older versus younger youth (Bridge et al., ; Cha et al., ; Roh et al., ). Finally, adolescent suicide deaths are much more common (2–4x higher) in males than females (Bridge et al., ; Cha et al., ; Kõlves & De Leo, , ; McLoughlin et al., ; Roh et al., ; Värnik et al., ; Wasserman et al., ), consistent with sex differences in suicide rates observed among adults (Bachmann, ; Canetto & Sakinofksy, ; Chang, Yip, & Chen, ; Nock, Borges, Bromet, Cha, et al., ; Schrijvers, Bollen, & Sabbe, ; World Health Organization (WHO), ).…”

“…In addition, suicide rates are found to be higher in older versus younger youth (Bridge et al., ; Cha et al., ; Roh et al., ). Finally, adolescent suicide deaths are much more common (2–4x higher) in males than females (Bridge et al., ; Cha et al., ; Kõlves & De Leo, , ; McLoughlin et al., ; Roh et al., ; Värnik et al., ; Wasserman et al., ), consistent with sex differences in suicide rates observed among adults (Bachmann, ; Canetto & Sakinofksy, ; Chang, Yip, & Chen, ; Nock, Borges, Bromet, Cha, et al., ; Schrijvers, Bollen, & Sabbe, ; World Health Organization (WHO), ). The major exceptions to this sex difference in youth have been observed in China (Bridge et al., ; McLoughlin et al., ; Wasserman et al., ), India (McLoughlin et al., ), Cuba (Wasserman et al., ), Ecuador (Wasserman et al., ), El Salvador (Wasserman et al., ), and Sri Lanka (Wasserman et al., ), all of which have reported higher suicide rates among females than males in at least one study.…”