Adolescent and Pre-Adolescent Suicide in Newfoundland and Labrador

Abstract

This study investigated suicides by people aged ten to 19 in Newfoundland and Labrador from 1977 to 1988. It is the first study of suicide in the province to use the records of death from all eight hospital pathology departments in the province and from the office of the Chief Forensic Pathologist. Cases were selected for the study using standardized criteria, independent of the manner of death recorded on the death certificate. A suicide rate of 4.37 per 100,000 was found. This rate and the age- and sex-specific suicide rates are lower than the official figures for Canada but higher than those reported in earlier Newfoundland studies. The rate for males was nearly five times the female rate, and the rate for people aged 15 to 19 was nearly six times that of people aged ten to 14. Suicide rates for Labrador were higher than for the island portion of the province for both Native and for non Native adolescents. Extremely high rates of suicide were found only among the Native population living in Northern Labrador, while none were recorded for Native people elsewhere. Firearms accounted for 54% and hanging for 33% of all suicides. Thirty percent of suicides occurred on a Saturday. Only 36 of the 63 deaths included in this study were designated as suicide on death certificates. The higher rate of under-reporting of suicide than in other jurisdictions suggests that official rates may not be useful for comparisons. The reasons for the high rate of under-reporting are discussed.

Suicide in Children and Adolescents

“…6 In the Newfoundland and Labrador study, the most common method was firearms (54%), followed by hanging (33%). 4 Statistical analysis failed to demonstrate a significant difference in the use of hanging between the current study and the 4 Canadian studies. However, statistically significant differences were noted regarding the use of firearms between this study and the 3 provincial studies (P Ͻ 0.005) but not the Montreal study.…”

“…5,7 However, there was a trend of decreasing firearm use and increasing numbers of suicides by hanging. In both the Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador studies, it was noted that there is a higher incidence of suicides in Native populations 4,5,7 In Ontario, the coroner's reports are not permitted to comment on ethnic origin.…”

La résilience scolaire comme indice d'acculturation chez les autochtones: bilan de recherches en milieux innus

“…Ainsi, les incidences de suicide chez les adolescents autochtones de certaines nations nordiques y sont trois fois plus élevées que chez les Eurocanadiens (Aldridge et St-John, 1991 ;Bagley, Wood et Khumar, 1990). Entre autres, la consommation précoce d'alcool et de stupéfiants représente un problème majeur dans les réserves (Adrian, Layne et Williams, 1990 ;Gfellner et Hundleby, 1995 ;Lalinec-Michaud, Subak, Ghadirian et Kovess, 1991).…”

Suicides, homicides, and accidental death: A comparative risk assessment of police officers and municipal workers

“…It has been suggested that suicide rates are frequently misreported Phillips and Ruth, 1993;Aldridge and St. John, 1991;Cantor and Dunne, 1990;O'Carroll, 1989;Kleck, 1988;Monk, 1987;Pescolido and Mendelsohn, 1986;Malla and Hoenig, 19831. To increase the validity of suicide rates in the present study, deaths in the cohort were isolated into International Classification of Disease (ICD) categories 796 and E800-E989, which included suicides, all types of accidents, poisonings, violence, all external causes, and undetermined causes.…”