J Korean Med Assoc.  2013 Feb;56(2):93-99. 10.5124/jkma.2013.56.2.93.

Recent statistics and risk factors of suicide in children and adolescents

• Jeon HJ
• Bae J
• Woo JM

• KMID: 1785377
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2013.56.2.93

Abstract

Youth suicide is like the tip of an iceberg; while many adolescents have died from suicide, many more adolescents have been harmed by suicide attempts and self-injury. Suicide influences not only the victims, but also their family members, friends, teachers, and neighbors. Witnesses can suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents worldwide and the first cause of death among Korean adolescents. The number of suicides in Korea, especially among high school students and female students, is rapidly increasing when compared with Western countries. Suicide accounted for 28.2% of deaths among Korean adolescents in 2010. There were 4.44% and 18.97% of adolescents who had attempted suicide and had experienced suicidal ideation in their lifetime, which shows that many adolescents have a potential risk for suicide. Previous studies in Western countries have revealed that risk factors for adolescent suicide consist of three categories: sociodemographic factors (male and low socioeconomic and educational status), mental health factors (depression and drug abuse), and individual negative life events and family diversity (family history of suicidal behavior, parental death, and child abuse). In conclusion, suicide is common and rapidly increasing in Korean adolescents. However, the risk factors of suicide and suicide behaviors in Korean adolescents are yet to be determined. A well-designed nationwide survey is needed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of suicide behaviors and mental disorders among Korean adolescents.

Keyword

Adolescent; Suicide; Risk factors

MeSH Terms

Adolescent
Cause of Death
Child
Female
Friends
Humans
Korea
Mental Disorders
Mental Health
Parental Death
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Suicidal Ideation
Suicide
Suicide, Attempted
Wit and Humor as Topic

Figure

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  Figure 1 The course of the suicidal process (From Bae SB, et al. J Korean Med Assoc 2011;54:386-391, with permission from Korean Medical Association) [2].

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  Figure 2 Adolescent suicide rates aged 15 to 19 years by the World Health Organization in 2008 [7,8]. OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

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  Figure 3 Changes of adolescent suicide rates aged 15 to 19 years by the World Health Organization and the Statistics Korea from 1990 to 2008 [7,8,10]. OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

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  Figure 4 Changes of Korean adolescent suicide rates aged 15 to 19 years by the Statistics Korea from 1983 to 2011 [10].

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  Figure 5 Changes of number of suicide and all cause of adolescent death aged 15 to 19 years by the Statistics Korea from 2000 to 2010 [10].

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  Figure 6 Changes of proportion of suicide among all cause of adolescent death aged 15 to 19 years by the Statistics Korea from 2000 to 2010 [10].

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