Child, Adolescent and Young Adult Suicides: A Comparison Based on the Queensland Suicide Registry

Abstract

Objective: The incidence of suicides increases rapidly up to the age of 20 years. Despite major developmental changes, only a limited number of studies has compared characteristics of child, adolescent and young adult suicides. The aim of the current study was to compare demographic, psychosocial and psychiatric characteristics of suicides in three youngest age groups -10-14 years, 15-19 years and 20-24 years -in Queensland, Australia, between 2002 and 2011. Methods:The Queensland Suicide Register (QSR) contains information from a variety of sources, including: police report of death to a Coroner, post-mortem autopsy report, toxicology report and Coroner's findings. Annual suicide rates were calculated by gender and age group. Odds Ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), Chi2 test are presented.Results: Between 2002 and 2011, there were 850 youth suicides recorded in the QSR -43 aged 10-14 years, 295 aged 15-19 years and 512 aged 20-24 years. The proportion of males increased with age (51.2%, 69.5% and 76.6%). However, the proportion of Indigenous people decreased significantly with age (45.2%, 18.1% and 14.5%). Hanging was the most frequent suicide method for all age groups and for both genders, decreasing significantly with age for both genders. Prevalence of a diagnosed psychiatric disorder, substance use and psychiatric treatment increased with age. Evidence of untreated mental health problems was reported without significant differences between age groups. Similarly, there were no significant differences in history of previous suicide attempts and communication of suicide intent. Suicide in social group and attention to suicide in media, family conflict, school/ work-related problems and childhood trauma decreased significantly with age while relationship problems increased. Conclusion:Suicides in early adolescence were characterised by higher prevalence of family conflicts, schoolrelated problems and suicides in social groups. Suicides in young adults had significantly higher prevalence of psychiatric disorders and were much more impacted by relationship problems. .

Understanding and comparing risk factors and subtypes in South Korean adult and adolescent women's suicidal ideation or suicide attempt using survey and social media data

“… 16 For example, Kawashima 16 studied suicide attempters in Japan and found that risk factors for adolescent women suicide attempters were school problems and parent loss while those for their adult counterparts were a history of mental disorders. Similarly, Kolves and De Leo 17 studied suicides in Australia and reported that suicides in adolescents were highly impacted by family conflicts and school problems while those in adults were highly impacted by psychiatric disorders such as unipolar depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorder. In addition to their findings on high-level differences between adult and adolescent suicides, considering social media use to explain the difference between the groups is highly important.…”

Trajectories of suicide attempts from early adolescence to emerging adulthood: prospective 11-year follow-up of a Canadian cohort

“…Suicide is one of the leading causes of mortality in young people worldwide, ranking second for ages 10-24 years and taking more lives than any one disease-related cause (Patton et al, 2009). While suicide is rare in childhood and early adolescence (Sheftall et al, 2016), there is a sharp increase in rates during mid-adolescence to young adulthood, especially in boys (Kõlves & De Leo, 2015;Malone et al, 2013;McLoughlin et al, 2015;Nock, Borges, Bromet, Cha, et al, 2008). Such a rapid increase suggests that the transition from adolescence to early adulthood is a period of heightened vulnerability to suicide.…”