Advertisement
CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: Just £9.99 for the next 8 weeks
SUBSCRIBE
News

Suicidal thoughts among Scotland's youth could be higher than reported

A reliance on self-reporting and stigma around mental health means figures are likely to be higher than studies suggest

With a swelling conversation around raising awareness of and de-stigmatising mental health – especially for young adults – it’s more important than ever to publish the hard facts on just how many people are living with mental health issues.

This week, a study led by researchers at the University of Glasgow found that one in nine young people in Scotland have attempted suicide, with a further 16 percent of young people aged between 18 and 34 having self-harmed at some stage in their lives.

In the first-of-its-kind study, published on open access journal BJPsych Open, 3,508 people across Scotland aged 18-34 were surveyed on the prevalence of self-harm and suicidal attempts.

Women were 1.6 times more likely to report a suicide attempt, the study found, and engaged in self-harm and attempted suicide on average two years younger age than men.

It also drew links between early onset and frequency of self-harming and attempts at suicide.

Prof Rory O’Connor, director of the Suicidal Behaviour Research Laboratory at the University’s Institute of Health and Wellbeing said the figures were “stark”.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“Suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-harm are major public health concerns that affect large numbers of young people,” he said. “Until now, there have been few studies that estimated how common these thoughts and behaviours were in young adults in the country.”

But with the stigma surrounding mental health in young people (a 2016 joint study by the NHS and YMCA found that 70 per cent of young people who experience mental health issues were unlikely to report them because of stigma), alongside the University of Glasgow’s reliance on self-reporting techniques to gather data for the study, are these figures just the tip of the iceberg?

The study itself recognises that suicidal history was assessed via self-report, and noted that “given the evidence some people consistently report their self-harm/suicidal history, reliance on self-report may lead to the underreporting of suicide attempts.”

The figures may be stark, but when it comes to reporting suicide and self-harm, it’s clear that one in nine young Scots may just be the start. Whether you’re concerned about your own mental health or that of a loved one, there’s a list of resources and helplines here.

Advertisement

Buy a Big Issue Vendor Support Kit

This Christmas, give a Big Issue vendor the tools to keep themselves warm, dry, fed, earning and progressing.

Recommended for you

View all
‘Common sense and humanity’: Home Office doubles time given to refugees before eviction from asylum hotels
a tent on the street
Refugee homelessness

‘Common sense and humanity’: Home Office doubles time given to refugees before eviction from asylum hotels

Olympic boxer Cindy Ngamba: 'I want to show the world that refugees can do anything'
Refugee boxer Cindy Ngamba
Sport

Olympic boxer Cindy Ngamba: 'I want to show the world that refugees can do anything'

Keir Starmer has unveiled his 'plan for change'. But can Labour really turn Britain around?
Plan for Change

Keir Starmer has unveiled his 'plan for change'. But can Labour really turn Britain around?

'We didn't know where to go': What's it's like being pregnant, a refugee and homeless at Christmas
Refugee homelessness

'We didn't know where to go': What's it's like being pregnant, a refugee and homeless at Christmas

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know