YOUTH SUICIDE ATTEMPTS - A SOCIAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE

Objective: The social and demographic characteristics of a New Zealand sample of young people making medically serious suicide attempts were examined and compared with those of a control sample of similar age, Method: Using a case control design, 129 young people making serious s uicide attempts were contrasted with 153 randomly selected community c ontrols on a series of social and demographic characteristics includin g educational achievement, socioeconomic status, income, occupation, r eligious affiliation and ethnicity. The age and gender distribution of the sample, and the methods of suicide attempt, were examined, Result s: Almost equal numbers of young males (45.7%) and females (54.3%) mad e medically serious suicide attempts, The clear majority of serious su icide attempts were by overdose or poisoning (78.3%), with tricyclic a ntidepressants (38.6%) and paracetamol (37.6%) together accounting for three-quarters (76.2%) of all drug overdoses. Young people who were l ess well educated and who were from lower socioeconomic backgrounds ha d elevated risk of serious suicide attempts, Conclusions: Young people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds have elevated risk of serious suicide attempt.