More than 4,000 cases of suicide attempts by young people were recorded last year, with relationship problems cited as the leading cause, the Taiwan Society of Suicidology said yesterday.
The group, together with the Taiwan Suicide Prevention Center, said that statistics showed a total of 4,389 cases of young people aged 15 to 24 trying to take their own lives were reported last year, with about 63.8 percent being female.
Aside from relationship problems, the two other leading causes of these suicide attempts were “family problems” and “depression or depression tendencies,” center director Lee Ming-been (李明濱) said.
The number of deaths by suicide among people aged 15 to 24 dropped by about 30 percent in the past decade, but suicide remained one of the top three causes of death among young people in 2014, center deputy director Wu Chia-yi (吳佳儀) said.
Yeh Chih-pin (葉啟斌), head of psychiatry at Taipei’s Tri-Service General Hospital, cited as an example the case of a 15-year-old girl who habitually cut herself on the arm.
The girl, who has been seeing the doctor every one or two weeks, did not really want to kill herself, Yeh said.
However, she felt left out and isolated due to a perceived lack of emotional support from her peers and said she felt better when she hurt herself, Yeh said.
Internet addiction might also be a reason why young people suffer emotional stress, as they lack sleep, skip meals and avoid outdoor activities, Lee said.
Internet addiction might also be a sign of repressed emotions, he said.
Parents should be alert to signs their children are suffering from sleeping disorders, frequent anxiety, are easily distressed, upset, depressed or feel inferior, he said.
They should communicate and listen to their children to prevent suicide attempts, he added.
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