Suicidal deaths in elementary school students in Korea

Minha Hong; Han Nah Cho; Ah Reum Kim; Hyun Ju Hong; Yong-Sil Kweon

doi:10.1186/s13034-017-0190-3

Suicidal deaths in elementary school students in Korea

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2017 Sep 29;11:53. doi: 10.1186/s13034-017-0190-3. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Minha Hong¹, Han Nah Cho², Ah Reum Kim², Hyun Ju Hong^{2

3}, Yong-Sil Kweon^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Myongji Hospital, Seonam University, College of Medicine, Goyang, Republic of Korea.
² Hallym University Suicide and School Mental Health Institute, Hallym University, Anyang, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Psychiatry, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, College of Medicine, Hallym University of Korea, Anyang, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 16591 Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of childhood suicidal deaths among elementary school students that occurred from 2011 to 2015 in Korea.

Methods: The report form of each suicide case by the teacher in charge to the Education Ministry was reviewed retrospectively.

Results: There were 19 suicidal deaths (12 boys, 7 girls) in elementary school students. The youngest case was a third grader (n = 1). Jumping from heights (n = 12) was the most frequently used method. Most suicides (n = 12) were committed in their homes.

Conclusion: These results highlight the alarming trend of early suicidal deaths and the importance of early suicide prevention strategies, especially in schools.

Keywords: Characteristics; Childhood; Death; Suicide.