THERE is no evidence to suggest that suicide rates among young people are related to exams or exam results. Nor, according to national statistics, are exams a significant factor in attempted suicide among young people, a conference was told at the weekend.
Organised by the national youth health programme, it was told by Dr Michael Kelleher, director of the National Suicide Research Foundation, that the unusually high suicide rate among young Irish men was due in part to "aggression turned inwards" and an inability to recognise and/or acknowledge feelings of personal distress. "Boys are more likely to see such feelings as a weakness," he said.
Suicide "is a comparatively rare phenomenon" here, he said, being responsible for little more than 1 per cent of deaths annually. However, among young men suicide is twice as common a cause of death as cancer, second only to road accidents. Between 1989 and 1994, there was an increase of 50 per cent in the number of young men who committed of suicide.
In the same period, the rate for young women remained static. The suicide rate among Irish women is about a third that of men, which is similar to most western countries. This rise in suicides among young men is occurring internationally, except in Japan. The gender difference is believed to be related to biology and more aggressive characteristics of men.
On average, there is one suicide and 25 attempts daily. Those who attempt it often do not intend to succeed. Of those who do, 90 per cent suffer from mental illness, and are frequently depressed. The situation is often exacerbated by alcohol, particularly among men. Schizophrenia also has a high association with suicide. It is the most common cause of death, among sufferers, with 10 to 15 per cent of young suicides attributed to it.
According to research, just one in four young suicides were known to have contacted health services beforehand. The study also indicated that depression frequently went undiagnosed, with young men less likely to recognise it in themselves and, when they did, less likely to admit it to friends or professionals.
Attempted suicide is most common among young people in deprived urban areas, where rates are similar for young men and women, but are highest among 15 to 24 year olds. It is rare among under 15s, and those past their mid 20s.
The most common method of suicide for such young people was an overdose, usually with paracetamol by young women, which was frequently associated with alcohol consumption. Less frequently used methods included hanging, drowning and poisoning.
Half of the men and a quarter of women were drunk at the time of attempts; half of the women and a third of the men had had an argument; 10 per cent of both genders had suffered a bereavement 10 per cent of the men and 4 per cent of the women had experienced a relationship breakup.
One in eight of the men had used street drugs in the previous 24 hours and almost 30 per cent of the men had used street drugs in the previous year. Almost two thirds of both sexes who attempted suicide had a history of depression at the time, with over 40 per cent having a history of mental illness.
However, many of those who took their own lives and a larger proportion of those who attempted it did not suffer mental illness. "It is as if the problem was more a philosophical one than a clinical one," Dr Kelleher said, and prevention was often more difficult in those eases.
Those who attempted suicide were likely to do so again, he said, but generally people likely to take their own lives gave warnings - "clearly visible in the cruel light of hindsight". Expressions of such intent "should never be ignored".
When dealing with young people who might express suicidal thoughts, people were advised to talk to the parents, the conference was told. In life threatening situations, professional help, available in the emergency department of any, hospital, should be sought, In one's own case, distress should always be shared with a friend, family or professional.
