Attempted Suicide

Abstract

During the last twenty years there has been a dramatic– increase in non-fatal suicidal behaviour among adolescents,– especially deliberate self-poisoning. The available statistics– show that this increase began in the late 1960s, continued– throughout most of the 1970s, but began to tail off in the early– 1980s. Since then the number of non-fatal suicidal acts has– remained fairly constant, and some reports have even indicated– a slight decrease in the statistics. Nevertheless, suicidal– behaviour among adolescents continues to present a major– challenge to the Health and Social Services.