Attempted suicide by teenagers is a hidden crisis gripping the developing world, new Australian research has found.
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A study of 59 low and middle income countries, taking in nearly 230,000 adolescents aged 13 to 17, has found about 17 per cent had suicidal thoughts, plans or attempts during a 12-month period.
That was compared to the rate in a developed country such as Australia, where 5.2 per cent of adolescents had suicidal plans and 2.4 per cent made suicide attempts.
UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences researcher Asad Khan said they identified a number of factors they believed was driving the higher rates of attempted suicide in developing countries.
“If you look at PNG for example, the unemployment rate for youth is almost three times that of adults, and there are other sociocultural issues,” Dr Khan said.
“Most of the Pacific island nations are also reliant an agriculture, there is not much industry in that part of the world, as well as factors such as poverty, displacements, it’s a complex thing.”
Samoa topped the list of countries reviewed in the study, with three in every five adolescents reported making a suicide attempt.
More broadly, one in five teens from western Pacific nations reported making at least one suicide attempt.
African countries also featured high in the list, reported by about one in four teenagers across those countries, with Zambia recording two in every five adolescents reporting they had made a suicide plan.
Overall, the level of suicide attempts in adolescence was slightly higher among girls at over 17 per cent compared to about 16 per cent of boys.
Dr Khan said he hoped the paper would be used to spark policy discussions in the regions affect to address the underlying issues driving the high rates of attempted suicide in young people.
“There’s a lot of work to do, this is just the beginning,” he said.
“The suicide literature is predominantly from developed countries, but more than three-quarters of the global deaths by suicide occur in those countries.
“We know a lot about the one-quarter of suicide deaths which happen in the west, but we know very little about the deaths in the developing world, so that is what we’re trying to emphasise to the global community.”
This study only looked at suicide attempts, plans and thoughts, and did not address deaths from suicide.
Dr Khan said they had plans to do further research into suicide deaths in the developing world, as well as regional-focused studies to give greater clarity to issues in specific areas.
“This study is a signpost for future work to address what is a serious global health issue,” he said.
The findings have been published in the journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.
Support is available for anyone who may be distressed by phoning Lifeline 13 11 14 or Kids Helpline 1800 551 800.
