Suicide among young Chinese a worrisome trend

Pressures confronting modern youth have given rise to newfound challenges, and talking about problems could be away of solving them

Suicide is now the leading cause of death among Chinese 15-to 35-year-olds, according to the country's health ministry, the National Health and Family Planning Commission, in a recent survey, confirming a trend that has been apparent for the past decade.

The grim statistic may be an indication that China is catching up with other developed societies in which the benefits of affluence must be set against the newfound challenges that they impose on the young.

Similar figures from around the world show a steady rise in the incidence of self-harming, which in many countries has overtaken heart disease as the single biggest killer in the general population.

US figures, in which suicide deaths far outstrip the numbers killed by more high profile gun crimes and terrorism, have been described as a national crisis and a hidden epidemic.

The phenomenon is even apparent in societies that otherwise enjoy a broad sense of well-being. New Zealand, an affluent country that usually figures high in surveys of national happiness, was nevertheless revealed last year as having the highest rate of teenage suicides.

Throughout the developed world, suicide is now the leading cause of death for people from their teens to their 40s.

Mental illness and depression have been contributing factors for young people in other societies, and at other times, contemplating suicide at a vulnerable period of their lives. However, these factors have been exacerbated by social isolation in the modern world. Financial problems may now ironically count for more than they did in an era of poorer but more integrated, family-based communities.

Added to these factors in recent years has been the peer-group pressure produced by the internet from which has sprung the phenomenon of cyberbullying. In a growing number of recorded cases, young people have been prompted to take their own lives as a result of constant harassment on social media platforms.

Social media also acts as amegaphone that highlights cases of youth suicide and might prompt other vulnerable young people to take a similar course. Research in the United States has shown that a teenage suicide will affect the outlook of young survivors, producing the phenomenon of copycat suicide clusters in which a number of teenagers take their lives over a period of months.

In China as elsewhere, the pressures confronting modern youth have given rise to demands about which schools and universities should be more proactive in counseling students in their charge.

In Britain, the government has issued guidelines for schools that recommend early intervention. Teachers have been told to be aware of the particular vulnerabilities of young people who have suffered neglect within the family or violence and sexual abuse. Drug abuse, pressures surrounding sexual orientation or membership in a minority ethnic group have also been identified as potential risk factors.

Psychologists also advise parents to talk frankly to their children and to be wary of dismissing their moods and depression as an inevitable part of growing up. The rule of thumb is that it is better to talk openly about the factors leading to teenage depression rather than forcing young people to bottle them up.

This more open attitude received a widely publicized boost recently when Britain's Prince Harry acknowledged that he sought counseling four years ago to cope with the loss of his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997 when he was only 12.

"I can safely say that losing my mum at the age of 12 and therefore shutting down all of my emotions for the last 20 years has had a quite serious effect on not only my personal life, but also my work as well," he told an interviewer.

His frank revelation was widely praised, and mental health charities said it had increased the number of vulnerable people who had been encouraged to seek their help. The lesson seems to be that identifying the challenges facing modern youth and being prepared to discuss their problems with them is the best strategy in tackling the scourge of self-harm.

The author is a senior media consultant for China Daily. Contact him at harvey.morris@gmail.com