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Mortality and Morbidity: Youth suicide
SUICIDE RATES(a) BY AGE AND SEX
Source: Causes of Death
Years of potential life lost More than 230,000 years of potential life were lost as a result of suicide deaths of young Australians (aged 15-24 years) in the decade to 1992. The years of potential life lost from suicide have consistently increased as a proportion of the total from all causes of death, from 12% in 1983 to 23% in 1992. In contrast, the proportion of years of potential life lost as a result of deaths of young Australians due to motor vehicle traffic accidents has declined, from 46% in 1983 to 31% in 1992. YEARS OF POTENTIAL LIFE LOST(a), MALES AGED 15-24 YEARS (a) Suicides and motor vehicle traffic accidents as a proportion of all causes. Source: Causes of Death Sex differentials Men in general are four times more likely to commit suicide than women. In the 15-24 years age group men are more than five times more likely than women to commit suicide. There has been speculation on the reasons for such a marked sex difference in suicide rates. These include the links between unemployment and low self-esteem, particularly among young men2. A further hypothesis is that at least part of the difference is due to a higher success rate among men, who often use more violent means3. Methods of suicide In 1972, the leading method of suicide for young men was using firearms or explosives (44%). However, by 1992, suicide by hanging, strangulation or suffocation had become their leading method of suicide (33%). The shift in method occurred in the mid to late 1980s. During this period the death rate for young male suicide by firearms and explosives decreased marginally, from 9 to 8 per 100,000, while the rate for suicides by hanging, strangulation and suffocation increased substantially, from 3 to 8 per 100,000. These data contradict much of the recent literature which has focused on the greater use of firearms as the cause of the increase in young male suicides. In contrast, the most prevalent method used by young women was poisoning by solid or liquid substances, accounting for 29% of cases in 1988-92. Although the incidence of suicide from hanging, strangulation and suffocation also increased among young women during the mid to late 1980s the corresponding rate was much lower than that of young men (less than 2 per 100,000). Firearms were used in 13% of cases and hanging, strangulation and suffocation in 24%. Support for the argument that the higher male suicide rate is due in part to their success rate comes from hospital separations data. In both Queensland and South Australia (the only two States for which data are available) female separation rates for attempted suicide or self-inflicted injury are similar to male separation rates. This could be interpreted as an indication that men and women actually attempt suicide or other self- destructive acts at approximately the same rate and that it is the higher success rate among men which leads to their higher completed suicide rate. However, without further detailed research this conclusion must be treated as speculative. SELECTED METHODS OF SUICIDE, MALES AGED 15-24 YEARS Source: Causes of Death METHODS OF SUICIDE, 1988-1992
Source: Causes of Death
RATE OF HOSPITAL SEPARATIONS(a) RELATED TO ATTEMPTED SUICIDE OR SELF-INFLICTED INJURY, 1990
(a) Rates per 100,000 hospital separations. Separations comprise discharge, transfer to another hospital or death in hospital. Source: Hospital Morbidity, Queensland; Hospital Statistics, South Australia; Estimated Resident Population Deaths in custody The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody focused attention on the high proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who die in custody. However, deaths in custody for the total population also increased substantially in the late 1980s. In the 12 years from 1980 to 1992, 185 young men and 7 young women died in custody. During this period 70% of young men died from hanging and 16% from natural or drug-related causes. Hanging also accounted for two thirds of the female deaths in custody4. In 1987 deaths in custody from self-inflicted and natural causes increased for both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population and the non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. The total number of deaths in custody of young men increased four-fold in one year, from 7 in 1986 to 29 in 1987. 24 of these deaths were from hanging, accounting for nearly a quarter of all young male suicide deaths from hanging, strangulation and suffocation. Since 1987, however, the numbers of deaths in custody have reverted to their previous rate, whereas the suicide rate from hanging, strangulation and suffocation for young men in the total population has continued at the higher level. DEATHS IN CUSTODY RATES(a), MALES AGED 15-24 YEARS (a) Rates per 1,000 male prisoners aged 15-24. Source: Australian Institute of Criminology Urban/rural differences The most marked geographic differences in youth suicide rates are between young men in urban and rural areas. Suicide rates for men of all ages and for women differ little between rural and urban locations. However, for young men the rural suicide rate is considerably higher. As with the difference in suicide rates between men and women this may at least in part be due to higher success rates due to the use of more violent means. In the period between 1987 and 1991, over 50% of youth suicides committed in rural areas involved the use of firearms. In urban areas the corresponding proportion was 23%. Conversely, poisoning by gases and vapours other domestic use gases was higher in urban than in rural areas, 18% compared to 10% respectively. A recent study5 found that the greatest increases in suicide rates for youth have occurred in the smaller rural towns, with populations less than 4,000 people. The study suggests that the general movement of young people from inland to coastal areas may have resulted in greater social disadvantage for those who remain in rural areas. METHODS OF SUICIDE BY URBAN/RURAL LOCATION, 1987-1991
Source: Causes of Death URBAN/RURAL SUICIDE RATES(a), 1987-1991
(a) Rates per 100,000 in the same age and sex group. Source: Causes of Death Endnotes 1 Ruzicka, L.T., Choi C.Y. (1993) Suicide mortality in Australia, 1970-1991 Journal of the Australian Population Association Vol. 10, no. 2. 2 Hassan, R. (1990) Unlived lives: trends in youth suicide Australian Institute of Criminology Conference, Adelaide. 3 Haines, J. et al (1992) Trends in youth suicide: a comparison between youth and other suicide Australian Institute of Criminology Conference Proceedings No. 13 Preventing youth suicide. 4 Australian Institute of Criminology, unpublished data. 5 Dudley, M. (1994) Suicide among young Australian, 1964-1991: urban-rural trends Public Health Association Conference on Suicide Prevention Strategies, Canberra.
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