Adolescent suicide in hong kong (1980-1991)

Adolescent suicide statistics in Hong Kong for the period between 1980 to 1991 were analyzed. Concerning adolescent suicide rates (number of suicide deaths over the total adolescent population), several phenomena could be observed: a) adolescent suicide rates in Hong Kong have been relatively stable for the period under study; b) suicide rates in the 10–24 age bracket for the period under study were the lowest when compared with other adult age groups; c) suicide rates among teenagers in early adolescence were lower than those among adolescents in late adolescence; d) although male adolescent suicide rates were in general higher than female adolescent suicide rates (10–24 age bracket), gender differences in suicide rates appeared to be moderated by age; e) adolescent suicide rates in Hong Kong appeared to be lower than those reported in the western contexts; and f) adolescent suicide rates in Hong Kong appeared to be lower than those reported in China. Some of these observations also appeared when proportional mortality rates for suicide (number of suicide deaths over the number of deaths for the adolescent population) were used as the basis of analysis. An examination of methods of adolescent suicide revealed that jumping from a height has been a common method used. The observed adolescent suicide phenomena are discussed within the socio-cultural context of Hong Kong.