Sharp rise in teen suicide attempts
Straits Times
Mar 28, 1998
BY LEA WEE
PSYCHIATRISTS at the National University Hospital have
seen a sharp rise in the number of teenagers attempting suicide.
Last year, NUH counted among its patients, 79 between 10 and 19 years old who tried to kill themselves, more than double the 35 seen in 1995.
They were admitted after taking overdoses of sleeping pills and Panadol or slashing their wrists.
NUH psychiatrist Brian Yeo links the jump to a rise in delinquency in schools. Most would-be suicides were estranged from their parents, had conduct problems, and were not doing well in school.
He said: "Boyfriends or girlfriends are their only anchors in life. When something goes wrong with this relationship, they may try to kill themselves on impulse. We see fewer of the meek perfectionist type who try suicide because they feel they've let their families down by doing badly in school."
Girls are more likely to try suicide, he said, and NUH's records show that last year, 62 of the 79 would-be suicides were girls. This may be cries for help or a way of dealing with stress, he said.
"But boys ... do not consider suicide very macho and tend to resort to ... abusing drugs, alcohol or anti-social acts, such as scratching cars and stealing things," he said.
The Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) which counsels the distressed, said it seemed to be getting more calls from teenagers unhappy over relationships with friends and families, and exam stress.
But the Singapore General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospitals said that they had not seen an alarming rise in teenage suicide bids over the last two years. And Dr Cai Yiming of the Health Ministry's Child Guidance Clinic said the NUH figures may not reflect an overall increase in suicide bids.
The clinic sees a constant 40 or so teens a year who have made suicide bids. Teen suicide numbers are constant.
"Logically, this should not be the case if more people are attempting suicide."
In 1996, 11 boys and six girls aged 10 to 19 killed themselves.
Figures for 1997 are not yet available.
Boys are more likely to succeed in suicide because they tend to do more violent acts, such as jumping from a high-rise building, said Dr Yeo.