from YAPRap March 2003
by Gillian Calvert, Commissioner for Children and Young People, & Convenor of the Child Death Review Team
Research released by the Child Death Review Team on the deaths of young people aged 12 to 17 years over a five-year period in New South Wales has revealed new information to help understand and prevent suicide and fatal risk-taking behaviour.
Suicide and Risk-taking Deaths of Children and Young People found that between 1996 and 2000, 187 children and young people died from suicide and risk-taking. Suicide and risk-taking deaths accounted for almost one-quarter (23%) of deaths of children and young people aged 12 to 17 years from all causes in NSW.
While the number of deaths by suicide and risk-taking are small, it is a significant cause of death in this age group.
The research, conducted at the request of the NSW Government as part of the NSW Suicide Prevention Strategy, yielded some important findings that will contribute to the strengthening of the Strategy. This report shatters the myth that 'people who talk about committing suicide never do it'. A quarter of the kids who committed suicide told a friend or family member of their intention. In almost every case this information was not acted upon, either because the suicide threat wasn't taken seriously or because the child or young person insisted the person they told promise not to tell anybody. The community must understand that this is one promise that is OK to break.
There were three main reasons why the children and young people died. The children and young people had either experienced long-term difficulties, a pivotal event they could not cope with or had engaged in risky behaviour such as alcohol or drug use or dangerous driving.
Almost two-thirds of the children (124 of 187) experienced significant long-term difficulties, sometimes lasting many years, which caused severe emotional distress. These difficulties included mental health problems, unbearable family situations and school-related difficulties. The experiences of this group of children underline the critical importance of intervening early, before problems become severe and entrenched, to prevent a child's life from taking a negative course.
The report provides some valuable learning for mental health services and the child protection and education systems about how they can make a positive difference to children who feel extreme despair about their future
Twenty-six young people (14% of fatalities) died following a pivotal, life-changing event, predominantly a relationship breakdown, an argument with a partner or the death of a significant person. I think it's important that adults don't minimise the devastation kids can feel when they are experiencing what for them are life-changing events. Issues that may seem trivial, like a relationship breakup, can seem like insurmountable problems to a young person experiencing them for the first time. Kids are not automatically equipped with coping mechanisms. They need support to help them understand their feelings so they know to ask for help to deal with adverse experiences.
Another common theme in the deaths of some of the young people was that they felt they could not conform to narrow stereotypes or could not meet academic expectations. Stereotypes and societal expectations are powerful messages that can negatively impact on young people's perceptions of themselves. Some of the children who died were the targets of bullying or had intense feelings of worthlessness because they didn't fit in and blamed themselves for their situation.
Twenty-eight children (15% of fatalities) died as a result of adolescent experimentation, which predominantly involved alcohol or drug use and dangerous driving. None of the young people who died in this way were chronic substance users. While there is a tendency to view experimentation as a 'normal' part of growing up, the study shows that this behaviour can have fatal consequences, especially for males, who made up almost all deaths in this group. For some, the experimentation may have been a way of coping with a problem or may have masked depressive symptoms.
A lot is already being done to prevent suicide and reduce risk-taking but the findings from this research will contribute to the improvement and strengthening of the NSW Suicide Prevention Strategy so that Government and the community can respond more effectively to the needs of children and young people.
The report recommends that within 12 months the NSW Government updates the NSW Suicide Prevention Strategy to incorporate the findings of the research.
more information
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The Executive Summary and a downloadable version of the report
www.kids.nsw.gov.au/publications/cdrt2000.html -
A hardcopy of the report or the briefing sheets that summarise the main findings:
Anna Sale 02 9286 7247
anna.sale@kids.nsw.gov.au
