Psycho Social Factors in Adolescent Suicides- A Psychological Autopsy based Study

Authors

  • Krishna Kumar Siva Sankara Narayanan1 , MuthukumarDuraiappa2, Prajith Thekke Madathil1

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37506/ijfmt.v14i3.10392

Keywords:

Adolescents, suicide, depression, psychosocial stressors, psychological autopsy.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Suicides among adolescents in India have become an alarming problem, especially among

students. This study is to find out the recent and remote psychosocial and disease related stress and adverse

life events that could have led these young people to commit suicide.MATERIAL AND METHODS: It is

a Cross sectional study on adolescent suicides with history and postmortem findings being consistent with

suicideconducted at Department of Forensic Medicine, Government Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala

state .FINDINGS: Informants of 55 cases were interviewed with the help of questionnaire.Most of the

suicide victims belonged to upper middle class category.Maximum number of suicidal deaths are seen in

victims having 1 sibling, living in a nuclear family.History of suicidal deaths among the family members

of the suicide victim is seen in 7 out of 55 cases.Mood of maximum number of cases before the suicide

attempt in the recent past, say 2 weeks, was depressed. Maximum number of suicide attempts were seen in

the evening, mostly after the school and college working hours.Academic performance of 40.0%cases was

average.10.9% were socially isolated. 14.5% had a history of previous suicide attempt. 14.5% had shown

anger, aggression and impulsivity in the recent past, say 2 weeks. CONCLUSION: The main purpose of this

study is to find out the stressors that could have led these adolescents to commit suicide and to suggest a few

strategies to prevent the suicides in the future.

Author Biography

  • Krishna Kumar Siva Sankara Narayanan1 , MuthukumarDuraiappa2, Prajith Thekke Madathil1

    1 AssistantProfessor, 2Senior Resident, Department of Forensic Medicine, Govt.Medical College Kozhikode, Kerala

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Published

2020-07-30

How to Cite

Psycho Social Factors in Adolescent Suicides- A Psychological Autopsy based Study. (2020). Indian Journal of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, 14(3), 402-406. https://doi.org/10.37506/ijfmt.v14i3.10392