Abstract
Background
The Japanese Government programme ‘General Principles of Suicide Prevention Policy' (GPSPP) contributed to decreasing suicide mortality rates (SMRs) before the COVID-19 pandemic, but they increased after the pandemic.
Aims
To identify risk factors for youth suicide and the impact of GPSPP on youth suicide.
Method
Annual suicide numbers during 2007–2022 were obtained from government databases. SMRs of student and non-student youths were analysed with a linear mixed-effects model. Interrupted time-series analysis was conducted to investigate temporal relations between three GPSPP periods and SMRs with 52 suicide motives among high school, special vocational school and university students. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to investigate the influence of grade repetition on university student SMRs.
Results
Non-student youth SMRs were higher than student SMRs. School-related (worrying about the future/underachievement), health-related (mainly mental illness) and family-related (conflict with parent and severe verbal reprimands) motives were major motives for student SMRs. During the first GPSPP period (2007–2012), no student SMRs decreased. During the second period (2012–2017), university and special vocational school student SMRs increased, but high school student SMRs were unchanged. In contrast, during the third period (2017–2022), with the exception of male special vocational school students, all SMRs increased. Unexpectedly, long-term grade repetition was negatively associated with health-related SMRs.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that GPSPP-supported programmes in schools partially contributed to student suicide prevention. To suppress increasing student SMRs, social/life support specialists should participate in in-school support services to bolster the social standing and lives of students who repeat grades or experience setbacks.
Funder
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Publisher
Royal College of Psychiatrists
Subject
Psychiatry and Mental health
Reference35 articles.
1. Education, Social Status, and Health
2. Reasons for suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan;Koda;JAMA Netw Open,2022
3. Emotional and behavioral changes and related factors of firstborn school-aged compared to same age only children;Sheng;Front Public Health,2022
4. 3 United Nations. Creating Hope Through Action: Preventing Suicide in the Post-Pandemic Era. United Nations, 2023 (https://www.un.org/en/un-chronicle/creating-hope-through-action-preventing-suicide-post-pandemic-era).
5. Network analysis for motives in suicide cases: a cross-sectional study;Shiratori;Psychiatry Clin Neurosci,2014