At 15, almost 21 % of girls and nearly 9 % of boys have already attempted
suicide . Journal of Medical Education Medical Contest, in its January issue
reveals the first results of an epidemiological survey conducted jointly by the
Faculty of Medicine and Graduate Institute of Public Health of Poitiers and the
Regional Health Observatory of Alsace. Disturbing results that legitimize the
organization, for the eighteenth consecutive year , a national suicide
prevention day , Wednesday, February 5 .
In June 2012, 1,817 young people aged 15 drawn in 171 schools in the Poitou-Charentes region and Alsace, responded to a lengthy questionnaire to 88 questions on health , among whom were dragged these questions: "During the last twelve months , have you tried to kill yourself ? During your life, how many times have you attempted suicide? " . The girls interviewed were therefore precisely 20.9 % said that they had indeed made a suicide attempt (TS) , boys 8.8%. And the results were very similar in Poitou in Alsace.
"The level reached above the 20 % and increased suicide attempts among girls is very impressive ," insists Dr. Philippe Binder , general practitioner, responsible for a consultation for teens to hospital Rochefort (Charente -Maritime), and lecturer at the University of Poitiers. "I can tell you that I did not sleep well the day I got these results. Imagine , five girls you meet on the street , one of them tried to end his life ... ". At comparable previous studies , adolescents 15 years were 9% in 1993 to self- declare a TS , and 14.6 % in 1999. In boys , the increase ( 4% in 1993 , 7.5 % in 1999 , 8.8 % in 2012) is slower and seems to have peaked .
WHAT DOES WANT TO DIE 15 YEARS ?
These initial results were quickly made public because of their alarming . " They confirm hospital data increased adolescent admissions for suicide attempts. Their average age is decreasing . In my department , it increased from 17 to 15 years in twenty years, " also notes Xavier Pommereau psychiatrist specialist adolescent difficulties , who heads the division of adolescent Aquitaine , CHU de Bordeaux , and coordinated this issue devoted to the adolescent depression medical contest.
These new figures should be treated with caution , however , warn the authors of the survey . They arouse in fact many fears of questions. The share of less than 24 years in suicide remains low - 4.8% , according to the Inserm . In 2011, about 10,524 deaths by suicide in France , 508 were under 24 years. Really means wanting to die at age 15 ? What acts are seen by young people as before, which can lead to death ? " A girl swallows a whole box of Tylenol says Dr. Binder. Die, to sleep , it is not clear what it will ... "
The representation of suicide itself may be changing , more girls declaring their deep scars as belonging to a suicidal desire . However, in the questionnaire, a question was raised scarification before the suicide , which would allow the respondent to make the distinction - almost a third of girls have also said they had tried to hurt voluntarily by cuts, blows or scratches ...
PARTICULARLY AFFECTED THE FRANCE
On the other hand , why change the meaning of the word "suicide" does it concern than girls? And if it is less difficult today than in the past to report a suicide attempt, why boys they would keep more hesitation? Finally, why France seems she particularly struck by this phenomenon? In the United States, for example , young girls of 16 are only 5% admit to having wanted to die .
Anyway , it is urgent , according to Dr. Binder to launch a specific study. "These girls have , in any case, had a trouble such a point that they are able , in retrospect, to say that they have tried to die. Whether real or imaginary , it reflects something he must dig . What does this mean in our society , so many girls want to die? "
Xavier Pommereau , girls who go wrong return the violence against them, when the boys are attacking society through criminal acts . But overall, "a very large number of young people in despair. I estimated that one in seven . " "They are more stressed, more worried about the future , struggling to feel alive , to assert their identity , because they are not supported by the group, because they lack social and ideological affiliation, because they are increasingly referred to themselves to define . Some teens, the poor, do not want this fight. " Teenagers mirrors the anguish of their parents , society in a state of stress, summarizes the psychiatrist.
Read also: Michèle , a volunteer with SOS Friendship : " What people are asking for is to be heard "
Suicide attempts, scarification , ethyl coma ... All these practices spread , does it alarm, and are increasingly trivialized by adults. "For emergencies, which are overloaded , allowed to leave with his parents, without psychological assessment , the girl who swallowed a half- box tablets, but that is only sleepy , not comatose , and takes about its legs . With this false belief that one who is not dead do not really want to kill . This is a mistake ! The risk of recurrence is important when suffering is not recognized . "
Even commonplace for ethyl comas treated simply as "cooked" . "Now get drunk at this point, like swallowing tablets , shows the same desire to stop suffering , to put his life on hold . When one takes the trouble to examine these young , moreover, they admit they are not going well , "says Dr. Pommereau . Faced with this alarming surge of acting out in very young , the psychiatrist appeals to parents. They need to help their teens to feel alive by giving them responsibilities , making them more players , fewer consumers. Giving them a place.
In June 2012, 1,817 young people aged 15 drawn in 171 schools in the Poitou-Charentes region and Alsace, responded to a lengthy questionnaire to 88 questions on health , among whom were dragged these questions: "During the last twelve months , have you tried to kill yourself ? During your life, how many times have you attempted suicide? " . The girls interviewed were therefore precisely 20.9 % said that they had indeed made a suicide attempt (TS) , boys 8.8%. And the results were very similar in Poitou in Alsace.
"The level reached above the 20 % and increased suicide attempts among girls is very impressive ," insists Dr. Philippe Binder , general practitioner, responsible for a consultation for teens to hospital Rochefort (Charente -Maritime), and lecturer at the University of Poitiers. "I can tell you that I did not sleep well the day I got these results. Imagine , five girls you meet on the street , one of them tried to end his life ... ". At comparable previous studies , adolescents 15 years were 9% in 1993 to self- declare a TS , and 14.6 % in 1999. In boys , the increase ( 4% in 1993 , 7.5 % in 1999 , 8.8 % in 2012) is slower and seems to have peaked .
WHAT DOES WANT TO DIE 15 YEARS ?
These initial results were quickly made public because of their alarming . " They confirm hospital data increased adolescent admissions for suicide attempts. Their average age is decreasing . In my department , it increased from 17 to 15 years in twenty years, " also notes Xavier Pommereau psychiatrist specialist adolescent difficulties , who heads the division of adolescent Aquitaine , CHU de Bordeaux , and coordinated this issue devoted to the adolescent depression medical contest.
These new figures should be treated with caution , however , warn the authors of the survey . They arouse in fact many fears of questions. The share of less than 24 years in suicide remains low - 4.8% , according to the Inserm . In 2011, about 10,524 deaths by suicide in France , 508 were under 24 years. Really means wanting to die at age 15 ? What acts are seen by young people as before, which can lead to death ? " A girl swallows a whole box of Tylenol says Dr. Binder. Die, to sleep , it is not clear what it will ... "
The representation of suicide itself may be changing , more girls declaring their deep scars as belonging to a suicidal desire . However, in the questionnaire, a question was raised scarification before the suicide , which would allow the respondent to make the distinction - almost a third of girls have also said they had tried to hurt voluntarily by cuts, blows or scratches ...
PARTICULARLY AFFECTED THE FRANCE
On the other hand , why change the meaning of the word "suicide" does it concern than girls? And if it is less difficult today than in the past to report a suicide attempt, why boys they would keep more hesitation? Finally, why France seems she particularly struck by this phenomenon? In the United States, for example , young girls of 16 are only 5% admit to having wanted to die .
Anyway , it is urgent , according to Dr. Binder to launch a specific study. "These girls have , in any case, had a trouble such a point that they are able , in retrospect, to say that they have tried to die. Whether real or imaginary , it reflects something he must dig . What does this mean in our society , so many girls want to die? "
Xavier Pommereau , girls who go wrong return the violence against them, when the boys are attacking society through criminal acts . But overall, "a very large number of young people in despair. I estimated that one in seven . " "They are more stressed, more worried about the future , struggling to feel alive , to assert their identity , because they are not supported by the group, because they lack social and ideological affiliation, because they are increasingly referred to themselves to define . Some teens, the poor, do not want this fight. " Teenagers mirrors the anguish of their parents , society in a state of stress, summarizes the psychiatrist.
Read also: Michèle , a volunteer with SOS Friendship : " What people are asking for is to be heard "
Suicide attempts, scarification , ethyl coma ... All these practices spread , does it alarm, and are increasingly trivialized by adults. "For emergencies, which are overloaded , allowed to leave with his parents, without psychological assessment , the girl who swallowed a half- box tablets, but that is only sleepy , not comatose , and takes about its legs . With this false belief that one who is not dead do not really want to kill . This is a mistake ! The risk of recurrence is important when suffering is not recognized . "
Even commonplace for ethyl comas treated simply as "cooked" . "Now get drunk at this point, like swallowing tablets , shows the same desire to stop suffering , to put his life on hold . When one takes the trouble to examine these young , moreover, they admit they are not going well , "says Dr. Pommereau . Faced with this alarming surge of acting out in very young , the psychiatrist appeals to parents. They need to help their teens to feel alive by giving them responsibilities , making them more players , fewer consumers. Giving them a place.
