Study: Hundreds of teen suicide attempts go unreported
Attempted suicide among Israeli teenagers is must more common than is reported, according to a study of more than 1,000 Jewish and Arab teens.
By Dan Even | Sep.04, 2012 | 1:59 AMhttp://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/study-hundreds-of-teen-suicide-attempts-go-unreported.premium-1.462527
Israeli teens in Jerusalem's Zion Square. Photo by Emil SalmanIsraeli teenagers attempt suicide far more often than is reported, according to the preliminary results of a study of more than 1,000 Jewish and Arab teens.
The study examined the scope of undocumented suicide attempts among several groups of teenagers: residents of the central-Israel cities of Ramle and Rehovot participating in a Health Ministry pilot suicide-prevention program; residents of the northern-Israel Arab community of Kafr Kana; teens who are attending government boarding schools after being removed from their homes; and among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teens.
The rate of attempted suicide reported by the Jewish respondents were 20 times that of the number reported by hospital emergency rooms, while for the Arab participants this rate was 74 times the reported rate.
Of the 55 teenagers in the study who self-identified as LGBT, 20 percent reported attempting suicide, 112 times the rate reported by emergency rooms.
"This is a group that isn't getting enough attention," Bar Joseph said, adding that the rate of attempted suicides is higher among LGBT youth who are religiously observant because they "have a much harder time with their families."
