Suicide accounts for 20 per cent of all deaths amongst young people aged 15-24 and is the second most common cause of death amongst young people after accidental death. [9] Around 19,000 young people attempt suicide every year and about 700 of these succeed. Within these statistics there is a marked gender division; young women aged between 15 and 19 years are the group most likely to attempt suicide, however, young men are much more likely to succeed in their suicide attempt. The suicide rate in young men has doubled since 1985, making them second only to men in the 25-44 age range for suicide.

There appears to be a reluctance to acknowledge suicidal feelings in the very young and this reluctance infiltrates youth suicide statistics. For every suicide recorded in the 1980s among 10-14 year-olds in the UK three other children were deemed to have died from "undetermined" causes or "accidental" drugs overdoses. [10] It has been pointed out that a tendency towards minimising, denying and mythologising suicide occurs in most cases of suicide, but even more so in children and adolescents. [11]

Substance abuse is thought to be a significant factor in youth suicide. Alcohol and drugs can affect thinking and reasoning ability and can act as depressants. They decrease inhibitions, increasing the likelihood of a depressed young person making a suicide attempt. American research has suggested that one in three adolescents was intoxicated at the time of their suicide attempt.

Academic pressure, family break-up and relationship problems are all causes of mounting stress and anxiety for young people. Young people who have been physically or sexually abused are often at increased risk of suicide or deliberate self-harm.

The Suicide in Avon study [12] found that 80 per cent of young male suicides had had no contact with their GP, psychiatrist or other support agency in the four weeks before death. The study found that a quarter of young male suicides were related to interpersonal stresses in the 72 hours prior to death, giving the impression that many of these suicides were impulsive.

American research has found that young people who commit suicide are more likely than their peers to have had a friend or relative who died through suicide. [13]

Kate Hill states that: ?The aftermath of a suicide appears to be a dangerous time for those in close proximity, who identify with the victim and are already vulnerable. The emotional furore that follows a death may loosen internal restraints against self-destruction. [14] Research suggests that: exposure to suicide or suicidal behaviour of relatives and friends appears to be a significant factor influencing a vulnerable young person to suicide. [15]

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