Pattern of Adolescent Suicides in Pakistan: A content analysis of Newspaper reports of two years

Background and Objective: Suicide is a serious, yet preventable global mental health problem for people of all ages and countries. It is the third leading cause of death in 15-19-year-olds. There is paucity of systematic studies and official statistics on child & adolescent suicides in Pakistan. In the absence of other means, newspaper coverage of adolescent suicides may serve as a useful source to understand the phenomena. Our objective was to report pattern of suicide deaths in children and adolescents across Pakistan and to determine the predominant methods of suicide precipitating events and associated factors

Methods: This study used content analysis to analyze newspaper reports of adolescent suicide in four leading newspapers of Pakistan from January 1st, 2019, through December 31st, 2020. Search yielded 289 child and adolescent (ages<18) suicide reports. Data about various sociodemographic characteristics, methods of suicide, possible motives, and associated features (e.g., any suicide notes) was extracted and analyzed.

Results: Total 289 suicides in children and adolescents in Pakistan were reported in selected newspapers during two years among both genders (51.5 % boys and 48.5% girls) with high incidence in late adolescence (66%). The predominant method of suicide in this group was ingestion of poisonous substances (50%) followed by hanging (35%) and use of firearms (7%). The behavior usually takes place within or near the adolescent’s home environment. The act was often attributed to domestic conflicts including arguments with parents of the deceased and relationship problems.

Conclusion: To develop effective suicide prevention strategies for a population, it must be studied within its own socio-cultural context. Study results emphasize adolescent suicide being a reality in Pakistan. There is urgent need for further culture specific research in this area in the country.