Doctors have discovered that there's a risk of suicide in children. The study has recently been published in the journal Pediatrics. Apparently, children as young as five years old could kill themselves.
The Disturbing Reality Of Suicide
Dr. Gregory Fritz of Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School was not surprised by the result. He admitted that mental health specialists used to think that it's impossible. According to CBS News, kids were thought to not have the understanding of death's permanence. They don't have a sense of time. More often, it doesn't seem to be hopeless.
The disturbing news reveals the grim reality of suicide. Adults should realize that suicide doesn't have an age limit. Fritz suggested that adults should listen to the kids. It becomes really serious when they talk about suicide.
The study reveals that children do die of suicide. Though the suicide rate is actually low. Only 0.17 of the 100,000 kids ages 5 and 11 have committed suicide. That's compared to the 5.18 rate for teens.
Lead author Arielle Sheftall of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital said that the study aims to understand more why young children kill themselves. It is a follow-up to a previous finding of the increase in suicide among black children. The preceding study also indicates a decrease of suicide among young white children from 1993 to 2012.
The Suicide Statistics
Sheftall and her colleagues used data from the National Violent Death Reporting System, according to TIME. The said suicide statistics covered 17 states from 2003 to 2012. They focused on two age groups: children ages 5 to 11 and early adolescents ages 12 to 14. They looked into 693 cases.
87 children aged 5 to 11 and 606 children ages 12 to 14 died by suicide. It also showed that they are predominantly male.
Family or friend problems would have driven children ages 5 to 11 to suicide. Romantic relationships seem to be the cause for early adolescents.
She also added that one-third of them had a mental health problem. 60 percent of the younger kids were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Sheftall explains that ADHD made them react impulsively. However, this doesn't mean ADHD causes suicide. 66 percent of the older kids suffered from depression.
Most of the younger ones died of suffocation and strangulation. The other age group more common method is death by firearm.
How Can Adults Help To Prevent Suicide?
Fritz suggested looking for obvious behavior problems or signs of unhappiness. Notice if the children are doing impulsive or dangerous things. According to Sheftall, adults can ask the children directly about suicide. It is actually safe. It does not put ideas into their heads.
The child should also be taken to the nearest emergency department. Or the parent can call a pediatrician.
