The number of teenagers considering suicide has dramatically increased.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 10th, a health survey of about 50,000 middle and high school students nationwide found that 14.3% of the students had seriously thought of suicide in the past year.
Particularly, nearly two out of ten female students (17.9%) thought about making this decision, which is twice as many as male students (10.9%).
After the survey began in 2005, the rate exceeded 20% for three years, then dropped to the 10% range in 2008, and has generally been on a decline since.
In 2020, the rate hit a record low of 10.9%, but it has been rising again every year.
The rate of teenagers who have considered suicide among second-year middle school students was the highest at 15.8%.
As this ratio increased, the planning and attempt rates also rose each year, recording 4.5% and 2.6% last year.
The stress recognition rate among students was 41.3% last year. The stress recognition rate refers to the proportion of people who feel ‘a lot’ or ‘a great deal’ of stress normally. Results showed that 4 out of 10 students were suffering from severe stress.
The rate of experiencing depression up to the point where it had disrupted daily life for at least two weeks was 28.7% last year.
The rate of students with Anxiety (scoring 10 or more out of 21 points on the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Test) accounted for 12.7%.
The proportion of students who often or always felt lonely in the past year also increased for two consecutive years since the survey began in 2020 reaching 18.9% last year.
The government’s announcement of the mental health policy innovation measures on the 5th is also related to this situation.
The government plans to strengthen the system to detect and support counseling for students suffering from mental health problems among elementary, middle, and high school students.
※ If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, call the suicide prevention hotline ☎1393, mental health counseling hotline ☎ 1577-0199, hotline of hope ☎ 129, hotline of life ☎ 1588-9191, youth phone ☎ 1388, and use the ‘We will listen to all’ app for youth mobile counseling, KakaoTalk, etc. to receive counseling from professionals available for 24 hours.
By. Min Jeong Kim
Most Commented