United Kingdom
Suicides
Key points
- The number of suicides amongst young adults aged 15 to 24 has almost halved since its peak in 1998, from 850 in 1997 to 500 in 2006.
- Scottish suicides are a fifth of all young adult suicides in Great Britain.
- Four-fifths of young adult suicides are males.
- Young men from routine and manual backgrounds are twice as likely to commit suicide as those from intermediate backgrounds and three times as likely as those from professional and managerial backgrounds.
Graph 1: Over time
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Graph 2: By population group
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Why this indicator was originally chosen
Suicide rates among young adults in this country have been a source of long-standing concern both nationally and internationally. Dennehy, A, Smith, L and Harker, P Not to be ignored, page 60. Also, see Diekstra, R et al - in Rutter, M and Smith, D (eds) Psychosocial disorders in young people, time trends and their causes, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 1995. Also, see Madge, N, Suicidal behaviour in children and young people', Highlight No 144, London: National Children's Bureau: between 1980 and 1990, 1996. Also, see Kelly, S and Bunting, J (1998) Trends in suicide in England and Wales 1982-96, ONS Population Trends 92, London: The Stationery Office, 1998, page 30. Suicide is now the second most common cause of death of young men after accidents, claiming more lives than cancer. Exploring the taboo, The Samaritans, 1997.
What makes suicide an issue in terms of poverty and social exclusion is the connection between suicide and socio-economic conditions. For example, the unemployment rates of a sample of males and females who attempted suicide during the 1980s were considerably higher than the average unemployment rates for the age group. Hawton, K and Fagg, J Deliberate self-poisoning and self-injury in adolescents: a study of characteristics and trends in Oxford 1976-1989, British Journal of Psychiatry, 1995, vol 161, pp 816-23; cited in Kelly, S and Bunting, J Trends on suicide in England and Wales 1982-1996, ONS Population Trends 92, The Stationery Office, 1998.
Definitions and data sources
The first graph shows the number of suicides in Great Britain among those aged 15 to 24, with the data shown separately for England and Wales and for Scotland (because Scotland is such a large proportion of the total). The figures have been adjusted for population changes over the period using ONS population estimates for each year.
The second graph shows, for the latest year, a breakdown of the suicides among those aged 15 to 24 by gender.
Suicide data includes deaths recorded as 'undetermined intent', where there is an open verdict, and therefore includes deaths where suicide was the probable verdict as well as those where suicide was formally given as the verdict. The data is based on year of registration (rather than year of occurrence).
The third graph relates to males aged 15 to 24 in England and Wales. It shows the suicide rate per 100,000 for males aged 15 to 24 broken down by social class. To improve its statistical reliability, the data is the average for the years 2001 to 2003.
Overall adequacy of indicator: medium. Classification of a death as suicide depends upon the practices of coroners' courts and is therefore potentially affected by administrative or procedural changes.
Relevant 2007 Public Service Agreements
None directly relevant.
Relevant government policies
The numbers
Graph 1
| Thousands | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Suicides - Unadjusted | Suicides - Adjusted for population changes | ||
| England and Wales | Scotland | England and Wales | Scotland | |
| 1995 | 598 | 106 | 659 | 106 |
| 1996 | 559 | 114 | 626 | 117 |
| 1997 | 590 | 127 | 670 | 133 |
| 1998 | 651 | 114 | 744 | 121 |
| 1999 | 550 | 127 | 627 | 136 |
| 2000 | 555 | 143 | 628 | 152 |
| 2001 | 506 | 126 | 562 | 133 |
| 2002 | 475 | 126 | 517 | 132 |
| 2003 | 492 | 103 | 522 | 106 |
| 2004 | 476 | 99 | 495 | 101 |
| 2005 | 445 | 102 | 454 | 103 |
| 2006 | 399 | 87 | 399 | 87 |
Graph 2
| Males | 386 |
|---|---|
| Females | 100 |
Graph 3
| Per hundred thousand population | |
|---|---|
| Managerial and professional occupations | 7 |
| Intermediate occupations | 10 |
| Routine and manual occupations | 21 |