Study shows
Child suicide attempts have increased dramatically
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A study by the Essen University Hospital examined how the number of suicide attempts in children developed during the second lockdown. The result is worrying.
Some studies have already shown that the pandemic has an impact on the mental health of children. For example, the DAK a special report which informs about the increase of mental illnesses and eating disorders in children.
A team from the Essen University Hospital has now investigated how many patients came to the children’s intensive care unit in the second lockdown after attempting suicide. Station manager Prof. Christoph Dohna-Schwake answered questions from the Westfälische Rundschau in the video talk “19 – the chief visit”.
What exactly was examined?
The data from 27 German children’s intensive care units were used and compared with the number before the first lockdown. The terrifying result: From March to May 2021, three times as many patients were admitted after attempting suicide than before the pandemic. “If you compare the numbers with the first lockdown, when there were fewer suicides, the number has even quadrupled,” says Prof. Dohna-Schwake. Extrapolated, the doctor assumes 450 to 500 images of patients after a suicide. The study by the Essen University Clinic has not yet been published, but has been submitted for publication.
We did not expect this high increase
A threefold increase – that was a surprise for the medical professionals, despite the increasing mental illness of children. Prof. Dohna-Schwake says: “We were more likely to think one and a half or two times as much!”
What is the reason for the high numbers?
As for the reasons, the expert can of course only speculate: “I explain it to myself that in the first lockdown, when everything was still relatively new and there was a prospect of improvement (…),”. In addition, the weather was very good. The second lockdown then dragged on like chewing gum and there was less confidence. Children and adolescents who may already have suffered from depressive moods could have seen a cry for help while attempting suicide.
The fact that domestic violence also increased during lockdown times is certainly not to be ignored on the subject. The White Ring has said that the number of calls to the victim’s phone has increased by 20 percent from 2019 to 2020. A similar trend is expected for the evaluation for 2021.
Should schools stay open?
Discussions flare up again and again about whether the schools should also be closed again with the rising corona numbers. Prof. Dohna-Schwake points out the importance of social contacts for children outside of digital media. For him a preventive measure to prevent mental illness. “My recommendation would be to keep the schools open as long as possible.”
Sources used: WR.de (video talk “19 – the boss visit”), tagesschau.de
This article was originally published by ELTERN.de.