Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T20:22:52.726Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Suicide in Children and Adolescents in England and Wales 1960–1990

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

G. M. G. McClure
G. M. G. McClure*
Affiliation:
Riverside Mental Health Trust; Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, 369 Fulham Road, London SW10 9NH
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

Following reports of recent increases in adult male suicides in England and Wales, suicide rates for children and adolescents are reviewed.

Method

By using estimated mid-year populations for five-year age bands, the suicide rates for 10–14 year-olds and 15–19 year-olds are calculated between 1960–1990. The same method is used to obtain rates for ‘undetermined’ death and ‘accidental’ death by causes comparable to suicide.

Results

The only group to show an increase in suicide rate since the 1970s has been males aged 15–19 years. This increase persists even when ‘undetermined’ and ‘accidental’ death rates for causes similar to suicide are examined. The increase is associated with an increase in hanging and self-poisoning with vehicle exhaust gas.

Conclusions

The increase in suicide rate in 15–19 year-old males may indicate increased psychosocial stress, particularly affecting this age/gender group.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 165 , Issue 4 , October 1994 , pp. 510 - 514
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1994 

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

Charlton, J., Kelly, S., Dunnell, K., et al (1992) Trends in suicide deaths in England and Wales. Population Trends, 69, 1–8. Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, HMSO.Google Scholar
Charlton, J., Kelly, S., Dunnell, K., et al (1993) Suicide deaths in England and Wales: Trends in factors associated with suicide deaths. Population Trends, 71, 34–42. Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, HMSO.Google Scholar
Hawton, K. & Fagg, J. (1992) Deliberate self-poisoning and self-injury in adolescents. A study of characteristics and trends in Oxford, 1976–89. British Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 816–823.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Health of the Nation: A Strategy for Health in England. (1992) London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Hoberman, H. & Garfinkel, G. (1988) Completed suicide in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27, 689–695.Google Scholar
McClure, G. M. (1984a) Trends in suicide rate for England and Wales, 1975–80. British Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 119–126.Google Scholar
McClure, G. M. (1984b) Recent trends in suicide among the young. British Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 134–138.Google Scholar
McClure, G. M. (1986) Recent changes in suicide among adolescents in England and Wales. Journal of Adolescence, 9, 135–143.Google Scholar
McClure, G. M. (1987) Suicide in England and Wales, 1975–1984. British Journal of Psychiatry, 50, 309–314.Google Scholar
McClure, G. M. (1988) Suicide in children in England and Wales. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 29, 245–349.Google Scholar
Office of Population, Census and Surveys (1974–1990). Mortality Statistics: Cause. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Pritchard, C. (1992) Is there a link between suicide in young men and unemployment? A comparison of the UK with other European Community countries. British Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 750–756.Google Scholar
Registrar General's Statistical Review for England and Wales (1960–73) Part I: Tables (Medical). London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Sainsbury, P. & Jenkins, J. S. (1982) The accuracy of officially reported suicide statistics for purposes of epidemiological research. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 36, 43–48.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shaffer, D., Garland, A., Gould, M., et al (1988) Preventing teenage suicide: A critical review. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27, 675–687.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.