ies 2014 exemplar-teenage suicide in hong kong and ways for prevention.pdf

8/12/2019 IES 2014 Exemplar-Teenage Suicide in Hong Kong and Ways for Prevention.pdf

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LIBERAL STUDIES

INDEPENDENT ENQUIRY STUDY REPORT

Title:TeenageSuicideinHongKongandWaysforPrevention


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Acknowledgement

Iwouldliketothankthefollowingpeoplefortheirgeneroushelpandguidance.Withoutthem

thecompletionofthisprojectwouldbeimpossible.

MyTeachers Iwouldliketothankthemfortheirpatience,

guidanceandthelargeamountoftimespentto

guidemeonthisproject.

RespondentsoftheQuestionnaire Iwouldliketothankthemfortheirpatiencein

completingthequestionnaires.

MyInterviewees Iamgratefulforthevaluableinformationtheygave

duringtheinterviews.Thescopeismuchmore

completewiththeirhelp.

Myfriends Iwouldliketothankthemfordistributingthe

questionnaires.

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p.6

TableofContents

1. Introduction

2. Research Objectives

3. Research Methodology

4. Literary review

5. Findings and Analysis

5.1Causesforteenagerstoattemptsuicideandselfharm

5.2Methodsforpreventionofteenagesuicideandselfharm

6. Conclusion

7. Reflection

8. Bibliography

p.4

p.5

p.7

pp.813

pp.1417

p.18

p.19

p.20

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1. Introduction

Ithascometomyawarenessthatthesuicideandselfharmratesofteenagershavebeenrising

intherecentdecade.FromtimetotimeIseeonthenewsthatteenagerstrytokillthemselves

becauseofvariousreasons.Comparingto2005,in2007thepercentageforteenagerstocommitsuicidehasrisento74%,risingfrom19peopleto33people

1.Also,in2009,comparedto2008,the

percentageofdeathfromsuicideamongteenagersincreasedby22%.2

Thisfigureonlyincludesthe

deathsfromsuccessfulsuicideattempts.Behindthisfiguretherearemanyunsuccessfulattemptsthat

maysadlybecomesuccessfulsomeday.Assuicideandselfharmarebothactsofselfdestruction,

andsevereselfharm,whichissuicide,willleadtodeath,thereforeinmyquestionnaireIhave

includedquestionsforbothselfharmandsuicide.

Suicideandselfharmingaretabootopicsthatarenotoftenbroughtupbysociety.Some

peopleavoidtalkingaboutthembecausetheyarenegativeandsomeavoidthisbecausetheydonot

wanttosharetheirexperience,fearingthatothersmaylookdownuponthem.ThereforeIwouldlike

tofindoutthetruecausesfortheseactsandtoseewhatcanbedoneagainstteenagesuicideandselfharmbygivingoutaquestionnairewhererespondentsareanonymoussothattheirprivacyand

thoughtscanbeprotected.

1 74 %, Wen Wei Po, 8thJuly,2007.

http://paper.wenweipo.com/2007/07/08/HK0707080033.htm2

22%,Ming Pao News, 28th

December,2009.

http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/091228/4/fuve.html

4
http://paper.wenweipo.com/2007/07/08/HK0707080033.htmhttp://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/091228/4/fuve.htmlhttp://paper.wenweipo.com/2007/07/08/HK0707080033.htmhttp://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/091228/4/fuve.html


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2. Research Objectives

Theobjectivesofthisprojectare-

tofindoutthecausesforteenagesuicidesandselfharm

tofindoutwhatpeoplecandotopreventteenagersselfdestruction

tofindoutwhatteenagerscandotopreventthemselvesfromselfdestructing

tofindoutifthereareanyrelationshipsbetweenattemptingsuicideandselfharming

toprovetheexpectedoutcomethatemotionalproblemsareimportantfactorsincausingteenage

suicide

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3. Research Methodology3.1Questionnaire

Thetargetintervieweesareteenagersrangingfrom13to19yearsold.Thereare60

respondentsforthequestionnaire.Thequestionnaireisdesignedintheformofmultiplechoice/

rankingquestionstofindoutwhatteenagersthinkthecausesforattemptingsuicideandselfharmare,andwhatmeasurestheythinkaresuitableforpeoplewhowanttoharmorevenkillthemselves.

Thequestionnairehas4parts.Part1asksfortheinformationoftheinterviewees,part2asksforthe

generalopiniononthecausesforattemptingsuicideandselfharm.Part3areforrespondentswho

havebeenthroughorhaveseenpeoplegoingthroughselfdestructionandpart4asksforthegeneral

opinionofwaystopreventselfdestruction.

3.2 InterviewsThedatacollectionprocessalsoincludestwointerviews.Interviewee1isafemaleF.5

studentwhofirstthoughtaboutsuicidewhenshewas8andputthethoughtsintoactionforafew

times.Nowshehasovercometheurgetokillherselfandleadsanormallife.Interviewee2isafemaleF.7studentwhofirstthoughtaboutattemptingsuicideandharmingherselfinF.2andhas

notovercomethecrisisyet.Toensurethatquestionsaskedaresuitablefortheinterviewees,they

havetocompletethequestionnairefirst.

3.3 LimitationsThelengthofthequestionnairemightdecreasetheinterestofsomerespondentsfrom

finishingthequestionnaire.Howeverthisisnecessarybecausedetailedquestionsareneededto

producecomprehensivefindings.Also,sinceonly60responseswerecollected,thenumberof

samplesmaynotbelargeenoughtomaketheresultrepresentativeofallHongKongteenagers.

Moreover,theteenagersmaynotunderstandthemselveswellenoughtotellthetruefactorsthat

causethemtosuicide.

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4. Literary ReviewThearticlePreventionofSuicide:AspirationsandEvidencebyDavidGunnelandStephen

Frankelstudiedpreventionmethodsforsuicideandbrieflydiscusseditsnature.Itstudiedthe

populationasawholeinsteadofonlyteenagers,includingwaysforpreventingsuicidecarriedoutby

thegovernmentandbyindividualinstitutions.Thusithasabroaderscopethanthisproject,whichfocusesonteenagersonly,duetothelimitationsofdatacollection.Thearticleisusefulforthisproject

becauseitprovidesreliablebackgroundinformationforthefindingsinthesurvey.

Thearticlestatedthatitisdifficulttopreventsuicidedefinitelybecausenosingle,readily

identifiable,highriskpopulationthatconstitutesasizeableproportionofoverallsuicidesandyet

representsasmall,easilytargetedgroup.Itisdifficulttoalwaystargetthepotentialsuicidal

populationintimeandcarryoutspecificmeasurestopreventthemfromdoingso.

Themeasuresfoundtobeusefularethosethatincreasethedifficultyofcarryingoutsuicide.

ForexampleinAustralia,legislationtorestrictthesellingofsleepingpillshadashorttermeffecton

decreasingnumberofsuicides.Themethodofimprovingcarexhaustdesignstopreventapersonfromkillingoneselfwithtoxicexhaustfumesprovedmostuseful,withadecreasedsuiciderateof7%.

Ontheotherhand,somemethodsthatwerebelievedtobeusefulareprovedtohavenoeffect

ondecreasingsuiciderate.Thesearethemethodsthatrequireactiveparticipationfromthesuicidal.

Forexample,schoolbasedprogrammeandtheSamaritanssuicidepreventionhotlinedidnotdecrease

therateofsuicide.

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5. Findings and Analysis5.1 Causes of teenage suicide and self-harm

Fig.1

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Fig.23

5.1.1 Emotional problems

Emotionalproblemsrankasthemostpossiblefactorforteenagerstoharmthemselves.This

maybeduetothechangesoccurringtoateenager.Duringpuberty,thehormonalchangeina

teenagersbodyisrapidandthiswillleadtomoodchanges.Itishardforteenagerstocopewiththis

becausetheycannotaltertheirhormoneseasily.Lernersuggestedthatadolescenceisaperiodof

majorchangeinbody,mindandbehavior.Thebasisofadolescentselfdefinitionlivesinthe

combinationofthesemajorchanges.4

Thisshowsthatteenagersmustcopewiththesechangeswell

sothattheycanhaveasmoothlifeandthosewhodonotwillhandlesthechangeswellwillhave

problemsintheirmoodsandemotions.

Therearemanyfactorsaffectingateenagersemotion,forexamplerelationshipwithfriends,

familyandacademicperformance.Whenthereareobstaclesintheseareas,teenagersarealready

facingchanges,andfurthernegativechangemayaffecttheirnormaldevelopment.Thereforeitis

notrarethatteenagersfaceemotionalproblemsbecausetheyaremoreeasilyaffectedbythe

surroundings.Some,facingdifficultiesinlife,maydevelopemotionalproblemssoseriousthatthey

wanttoharmthemselves.

Moreover,teenagersarefacingchanginggoals.AccordingtoFreedenberg,studentsare

notalwaysawareofthemultiplegoalstheyarepursuingandwhenself definedgoalsare

thwartedorwhentheyarenolongerinalignmentwitheachotherandwiththestudentsself

concept,intenseemotionsmaybeevoked.5

Whenteenagersthinkthattheirownaimsare

3Figure1showsdataonthequestionaskingteenagersthepossibilitythattheywouldharmthemselvesbecauseofthelisted

reasons.ThedataofFigure1iscollectedfromall60respondentsofthequestionnaire,whileFigure2sdataisbasedon

thosewhohaveorhavefriendsattemptedsuicideandselfharm.Thedifferentquestionsaredesignedasacontrolled

measureforthepossibilitythattheremightbeabigdifferencebetweentherealandpredictedreasonsforthosewhohave

andhavenotattemptedsuiciderespectively.4RichardM.Lerner,Adolescence Development, Diversity, Context and Application, (UpperSaddleRiver,N.J:PearsonEducation,Inc.,2002),p. 134.5

EricaFreedenberg,Learning to Cope. Developing as a Person in Complex Societies ,(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1999),

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conflictingwitheachother,theymayfeelfrustratedandhaveemotionalproblemsbecausethey

arenolongercertainaboutwhattheyshoulddo.

5.1.2 Loss of purpose in life

Lossofpurposeinlifeisthemostimportantcauseforteenagesuicide,asseenfromthefigures.Itranksasthesecondmostimportantreasonsforteenagerstoharmthemselves.Lossofpurposeinlife

meansthatapersondoesnothaveanaiminlife.Themajorcauseforthismaybetheneedtogrowup

andtakeupresponsibility,includingtakingcareofoneself.Teenagershavetomakeimportant

decisionsforthemselvesforthefirsttimeandtheyneedapurposeinordertobecertainaboutthe

decisions.Whenteenagerswerechildren,theydidnothavetomakemanydecisionsandcomplying

withnormssetbyadultsmadetheirdailylifeeasy.However,whenteenagersbecomeolder,theyneed

anidentityofthemselvesandtheysearchformeaningintheirroutinebecausesomedonotwantto

followwhattheyarealwaystoldtodo.Theymayfeelfrustratedandgiveupontheoriginalgoalbut

cannotfindanotherone,sothattheirlivesbecomepurposeless.Forexample,previouslytheymaybeaimingtoachievegoodresults,butasthepressureofexaminationscome,theymaynotfindthe

meaninginworkingsohardforthingsthattheyarealwaystoldtoachieve.Failingtofindameaning

inthingstheydowillleadtothelossofpurposeinlife.

AccordingtoInterviewee1,thelossofpurposeinlifewasoneofthereasonsforherto

considersuicide.Shecouldnotfindanymeaningorpurposeinlifebecauseshethoughttherewasnot

muchshecoulddoinherlifeandsoshewantedtoknowwhatdeathwouldbelike.Shealsosawno

hopeinlifeasshefacedfamilyconflictseverydayandcouldnotdoanythingaboutit.This

correspondswiththeresultsfoundinthesurvey,whichshowsthatteenagersmaykillorharm

themselveswhentheyhavelostpurposeinlife.

FromtheConferenceConsensusPaperonExploringtheNatureandDevelopmentofPurpose

inYouthbytheStanfordUniversity,aresearchindicatedthatyouthwithoutpurposeinlifewillfeel

difficulttoacquiremotivationinlife.6

Astheylackmotivation,theymayfeelthatlifeisnot

interesting,particularlywhencomparedtotheirfriendswhohaveaclearaimtoworkfor.Theymay

alsofeelinferiorbecausetheylackwhatpeopleshouldhave.7

Inthiscase,teenagersmaythinkabout

selfharmingorattemptingsuicidebecausetheydonotfeelneededintheworldastheycannotdo

anythingthatappearsimportanttothem.8

5.1.3 Despair

Despairmeanslossofhopeanditalsoranksahighpositionasthecauseforattemptingsuicide

p.183.

th6

StanfordUniversity2003 Consensus Document. Retrieved26 Jan2008, from

http://www.stanford.edu/group/adolescent.ctr/Conference/2003/2003cons.html7

Erikson,E.H.(1968).Identity: youth and crisis.NewYork:W.W.Norton&Company8

Marcia,J.E.(1980).Identityinadolescence.InJ.Adelson(Ed.). Handbook of Adolescent Psychology.NewYork: Wiley,1980.

10
http://www.stanford.edu/group/adolescent.ctr/Conference/2003/2003cons.htmlhttp://www.stanford.edu/group/adolescent.ctr/Conference/2003/2003cons.htmlhttp://www.stanford.edu/group/adolescent.ctr/Conference/2003/2003cons.html


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orselfharm,especiallyforthosewhohaveattemptedanyofthese.AccordingtoFigure2,50%of

respondentsthathaveattemptedorhavefriendsattemptedsuicidethinkthatdespairisoneofthemost

importantcausesfortheactionwhilemorethanonethirdisthecaseforselfharm.

Despaircomesfrommanysources,andtheimmediatesourceforthatisdepression.When

peoplefeelverydepressed,theythinklowlyofthemselvesandtheyfeelthattherearemany

problemsthattheycannotsolve.Asaresult,theywanttoescapefromrealityandtheymaythinkthat

thepainofselfharmingorattemptingsuicidemayhelpthemwithit.

Fig.3

Asmentionedabove,teenagersfacemanyproblems,whethertheyaredaytodayonesorspecialproblemslikefamilyoracademicones.HongKongisafastpacedcity,thefailuretosolve

problemsindailylifeeasilyleadssomeonetolagbehindothers.Teenagersneedtoworkveryhard

inordertokeepupwiththepaceofthesociety,especiallyforteenagerswhoarefacingpublic

examinations,whichexplainthefactthatmoreteenagersstartattemptingcommitsuicideorself

harmattheagegroupof1516.Iftheyfailtodosoinanyaspect,theymaylosehopebecauseitis

toohardforthemtocatchupwithothers,itmayseemtothemthattheyarenotlikelytosucceed.

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Fig.4

5.1.4 Deterioration in academic performance

FromFig.4,lowacademicresultsisacommonfactorformorethan35%troubledteenagers

toattemptselfharmandsuicide.Deteriorationinacademicperformancemeansthattheteenager

willfacerepeatedfailureandselfesteemmaydeterioratealongwiththeresultsbecauseitseemsto

themthattheyareincapableofwhattheyshouldbeabletodoandwhatothersarecapableof.Some

ofthemmaynotstruggleontokeepupwithothersandwillloseinterestineverychallenge.Asaresult,theywillgiveupstudyingorputmuchlesstimeandeffortintheirstudies,leadingtoa

furtherdeteriorationintheirperformance,creatingaviciouscyclewhichwillbehardtoescapefrom.

Theywillnotjustbeperformingbadlyinwhattheyoriginallyarenotgoodat,butalsoperform

worseinfieldstheyaregoodat.Withcontinueddeteriorationofself esteemandperformance,the

teenagersmaylosepurposeinlifeastheyseemunabletoachieveanything.

5.1.5 Others

Compoundreasons

Sometimessuicidemaybeduetoacombinationofcauses.Apersonswilltoliveisnot

onlybasedononething,butmany.Whenoneofthefactorsbecomesunfavorable,theperson

maynotbeaffectedyet.Althoughfromthedatacollected,financialproblemissecondleastlikely

tobethecauseforsuicide,thisproblemcombinedwithotherswillleadtoasuicideattempt.

Interviewee1hadlostinterestinstudies,hadapoorrelationshipwithoneofherparentsandboth

ofhersiblings,shewasalwaysscoldedandfelttrappedathome,andbecauseshelackedthemoney

togooutwithfriendsorjustbyherselfforlunchanddinner,shefeltveryhelplessandwantedto

escapefromthepainbykillingherself.Thereforeitisshownthatacombinationofunfavorable

factors,howeverranked,couldleadtosuicideattempts.

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Relationshipbetweenselfharmandsuicide

Selfharmismorecommonthansuicide.Fromthedatacollected,17respondentshaveheard

offriendsorrelativesselfharmingwhile10oftherespondentshaveheardofattemptingsuicide

frompeoplearoundthem.Itiseasierforsomeonetoselfharmbecausetheeffectwillnotbeasbig

assuicide.Actsofselfharmwillinflictinjuriesorpainontheperson,anddoesnothaveaoneoff

naturelikesuicidedoes.Selfharmingusuallydoesnotleadtopermanentdamageandtheperson

selfharmingdoesnotneedtoconsideritsconsequencesasmuchasoneattemptingtosuicide.

Moreover,selfharmingmaynotbenoticeablebyothersbutthedeathofsomeonefromcommitting

suicidewilldefinitelyhaveamuchgreatereffect.Whensometeenagerswantedtoreliefpainand

arenotreadyfortheextremeofdeath,theyturntoamilderformofselfdestruction.Insteadof

suicide,theyharmthemselvesphysically.

Fromtheinterviews,thedifferencebetweenInterviewee1and2isthatInterviewee1didnot

trytoharmherselfwhileInterviewee2diditsothatshecouldfeelthepainandventheremotion.

FromInterviewee2shigherfrequencyandthelargernumberofsuicideattemptsthanInterviewee

1,apositivecorrelationmaybedrawnbetweenfrequencyofselfharmingandsuicide.Some

suicidecasesarethusdetectableandspecialattentionneedstobepaidtodepressedpeoplethat

haveahistoryofselfharm.However,fromthecaseofInterviewee1,itisalsoshownthatselfharm

andsuicidearenotnecessarilyrelated,makingitdifficulttodetectsomepossiblesuicidecases.

Signsofinclinationforselfharmmaynotbesignsofinclinationforsuicide.From

Interviewee1,althoughsuicidewasattempted,selfharmwasneverattemptedbecausethe

intervieweejustwantedtorelieveherselfofpain,nottogiveherselfmorepain.Also,shedidnot

wanttoseescarsonherselfastheymayremindherofthepainfuleventsshewentthrough.

Thereforeshewillnottrytoharmherselfwithouttheaimofcommittingsuicide.Hence,suicide

maynotbenecessarilybetheultimateoutcomeofselfharm.Onemustnotsolelylookforsignsof

selfharmlikewoundsonapersoninordertoseeifthatpersonhasaninclinationforcommit

suicideornot.Instead,achangeofhabit,likeasuddendeteriorationoraccelerationofspeechor

appetite,maybesignsforinclination.

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5.2 Methods for prevention of teenage suicide and self-harm

Fig.5

Fromthedatacollected,itisshownthattalkingtoaclosefriendisthemosteffectivemethodto

preventapersonfromcommittingsuicideandharmingthemselves.82%and75%ofrespondentschose

thismethodforstoppingselfharmandsuiciderespectively.

Friendsareveryimportanttoteenagersnowadays,astheyspendmoretimeatschoolandlesstime

athome.Familybondisincreasinglyweaksofriendshaveagrowingimportancetoteenagers.Theytend

totalktofriendsabouttheirproblemsinsteadoffamilymembersbecausetheirfriendscanunderstand

theircharactersmorethanfamilymembersdo.Itisalsoeasierforteenagerstotalktofriendsbecause

theymayhavesimilarproblemsandnogenerationgap.

Ontheotherhand,asnuclearfamilyhasagrowingpopularityinHongKong,teenagerslive

onlywiththeirparentsandsiblingsorareinsinglechildfamilies.ManyparentsinHongKongare

workingtillverylateanddonothaveenoughtimetocommunicatewiththeirchildren.Teenagers

thushavenotdevelopedthehabitoftalkingtotheirparentssincetheywereyoungandtheytalkto

theirfriendsinstead.Thisalsoexplainswhytalkingtofamilyforstoppingtheactofself

destructionhasamuchlowerpercentagecomparedtotalkingtofriends,whichareadifferenceof

28%and18%forpreventingselfharmandcommitsuiciderespectively.

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Callingtophoneinradioprogramsreceivedtheleastsupportasawayforstoppingaperson

fromself harmorsuicide.Theywereratedastheleastusefulfor58%and52%oftherespondents

againstselfharmandsuiciderespectively.Thisisbecauseteenagersdonotliketodisclosetheir

personalfeelingsandinformationtopeoplewhodonotknowthem.Also,theymightfearbeing

identifiedbytheirparentsandfriendsbecausetheymaybelisteningtotheradioprogram.Fromtheresultsabove,itisshownthatemotionalproblemsisthemostimportantcauseforteenagersto

performactofselfdestruction.Callingphoneinprograms,thoughthepersonmayreceivesome

professionaladvice,itsurelywouldnotbeindepthenoughbecausethehostortheguestinthe

programdoesnothaveenoughtimetogetholdofwhattheneedsandcharacteristicsoftheperson

seekingforhelpis.Theadvicetheygivemaybetoogeneralandmaynotsuitthepersonsspecific

need.Iftheadvicefailstowork,teenagersmayfeelmorehopeless.Thiswouldbedangerousbecause

anytriggerwouldeasilyleadtoasuicideattempt.

Similarly,callingtoantisuicidehotlines,forexampletheSamaritans,doesnotprovetobeausefulmeasure.Amongthosewhoattemptedsuicide,75%heardoftheSamaritansbeforebutonly

4%contactedthembeforeattempting suicide.9

Thismaybeduetothereasonthatpeoplearenot

willingtoactivelyseekhelpfrompeoplewhomtheydonotpersonallyknow.

Withlossofpurposeinlifebeinganimportantcauseforselfdestruction,developinghobbies

becomeaneffectivemethodinpreventingthis.Bydevelopinghobbies,where58%and63%of

teenagersthinkitisusefulforpreventingsuicideandselfharmrespectively,asthisgivesteenagers

anaimandopportunitytosetgoals.Itshowsthemthattheyhavesomespecialtiesandtheycanfind

theiridentitythroughdiscoveryofstrengthandweaknesses.AsInterviewee2suggested,theycan

understandthemselvesbetter,improvetheirskillsandselfesteem.

Interviewee2thinksthatwhenpeoplearetellingothersthattheywanttosuicide,itimplies

thattheydonotreallywanttodiebutwanttoseekhelptosolvetheirproblems.Itisimportantfor

someonetotrythebesttobehelpfulwhenistalkedtoaboutsuicideorselfharm.Onemustalsobe

carefulwhentalkingtosomeonewhowantstosuicide,forexamplebyavoidingtalkingabout

furthernegativethingsapartfromthosementionedbythepersonseekingforhelp,asInterviewee2

said.Thisisbecauseexcessexposuretonegativethoughtswillgiveanimpressionthattheworld

doesnothavehope.Onecantalkabouttheinterestsofthatpersontodiverttheattentiontothings

thataremorepositive.Thiscanhelpsolvetheproblemoflossofpurposeinlife.

Intermsofothermeasures,Interviewee2alsosuggestedpeopleputtingawayanyobjectsthatthey

canusetosuicideorharmthemselves.Thisistostopthesuddenurgeofharmingoneself,asillustrated

intheexperienceofIntervieweeIwhereshedroppedthethoughtofswallowingpillsbecauseshe

thoughtwouldtaketoomucheffort.

9DavidGunnelandStephenFrankel,PreventionofSuicide:AspirationsandEvidence,British Medical Journal, Vol.

308,No.6938(May7,1994),p.1231.

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Fig.6

Ontheeffectivenessofmeasuresinpreventingothersfromsuicideandselfharm,mostof

therespondentsthinkthatbewillingtolisten,lookforinclinationofcommitsuicideorself-

harmandbecarefulwhentalkingtopeoplewiththesesignsareeffectivemeasures.Leaving

thepersonaloneisagreedtobetheleasteffectivemeasureas52%ofrespondentsmarkeditas

leasteffectiveinpreventingselfdestruction.Fromtheinterviews,whenpeoplecommitsuicideor

selfharm,theythinkthattheproblemsareuniqueandtheyaregoingthroughtheworstsituation,

andcausesmaynotbedefinite.Therefore,itisvitalthatpeopleshowanunderstandingofthe

problemsbylisteningandaskingappropriatequestions.Theyneedtoshowthattheproblemsare

seriouslyaddressedsothattheiradvicewillbeeasilyacceptedbytheteenagers.

Whentalkingtoapersonwhohasinclinationforcommitsuicideorselfharm,thereare

thingsthatmayhelpthemdealwiththesituation.Forexample,asInterviewee1saidtheirinterest

andwhattheywouldloseiftheykillthemselvescanberemindedtothem,alsotheyhavetobe

madetotalk.Forpeoplewhohaveinclinationofselfdestruction,theymayfeellikeaburdento

othersandmaynotbewillingtotalk. Theyaremadetotalksothattheycanreleasetheirworries

anddealwiththemonebyonewiththehelpofothersinsteadofdealingwiththemallby

themselvesinapessimisticway.Theywillalsofeelthecarebecausesomeoneisinterestintheir

troublesandfeelings.

Moreover,Interviewee1saidthinksthatonemustnotpretendnothinghashappened,nortopretendtounderstandeverything.Thatwouldonlymakethesituationworsebecausetheperson

willfeeluncaredfor.Fakeunderstandingmayalsoleadtogivingwrongadvice.


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Fig.7

Itisfoundthatnearlyhalfoftherespondentsthinkthatwhentoldthatheorshewantstoharm

themselvesorsuicide,theywilltellnooneandtrytotalktheirfriendsoutofit.FromwhatInterviewee

1said,itisimportantthatthesituationisnotrevealedtootherswithouttheconsentoftheperson

involved.Iftheirsecretisexposedwithoutconsent,theymaylosetrusttoallthepeopletheyknow

becausetheycannoteventrustthepersontheythoughttheycould.Whentheyseekhelpfromaspecific

person,itistheirhopethattheirpersonmaybeabletohelpthemoutofdifficulties,notothers.Although

thepersontalkedtomaynotbeabletodomuch,listeningandtryingtogivesolutionarealreadyuseful.

Itisnotablethat40%oftherespondentswouldignorethepersontellingthemabouttheirself

destructiveinclination.Manymaythinkthatifapersonistalkingaboutsuicide,theywillnotdoit,

whichmaynotbethecase.75%ofpeoplewhoattemptedsuicidehavedisplayedsignsofself-10

destructionandhavetriedtoseekhelpfromothersbefore. Moreover,upto47%ofthosewho11attemptedsuicidehadharmedthemselvesbefore. Thusdesireforsuicideorselfharmmustbe

handledcarefullywithmuchattentiongivenbecausethetalkingofitgrowsintoactionifignored.

Desireforcommittingsuicidemaynotfadeawayastimepassesby,butmaystayandintensifyinaperson.Thereforeitmustnotbeassumedthatpeopleplanningtosuicidecanbeleftalone.

Interviewee2sdesireforsuicideduetolossofpurposeinlifehaslastedfor2years.Althoughshehas

noimmediateurgetosuicide,shemustnotbeleftaloneiftheurgegrowsbecauseshewouldbe

determinedtodieandfeelthatitsjustifiedafterconsideringitforsuchalongtime.Thisconcludesthat

ignoringthepersonisaverydangerousaction.

th10MarthaAinsworth."WhatcanIdotohelpsomeonewhomaybesuicidal?."2006.29 Jan 2007

http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/whattodo.htm11GunnelandFrankel,PreventionofSuicide:AspirationsandEvidence,p.1229.
http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/whattodo.htmhttp://www.metanoia.org/suicide/whattodo.htm


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6. Conclusion

Fromtheresearch,itisfoundthatthecorereasonsforteenagesuicideareemotionalproblems

andlossofpurposeinlife,thelessimportantreasonsarefeelingofdespairandpooracademicresults.

Muchattentionmustbegiventopeoplewhoareshowingthesesymptoms.

Itmightnotbeeasytodetectthesesymptomsbecauseteenagerstendtosharetheirproblems

onlywiththeirclosefriends.Thereforetoreducethepossibilityofteenagesuicide,preventionmethods

shouldbebroadlyknownsothatwhenteenagersencounterfriendsattemptingsuicide,theywould

knowwhattodo.

Itisnotablethatactsofsuicideandselfharmarenotcausedbyasinglefactor,butbya

combinationoffactors.Onefactoralonemightnotbeenoughtotriggerateenagertosuicidebuta

combinationofanumberofweakfactorsmightdoso.

Whendealingwithapersonwithsuicidalinclination,onemusttrytogivethemcare,

attentionandlistencarefullywhentalkingtothem.Anynegativecommentmaytriggerthemtodo

horriblethingswhileaslightencouragementorpositivecommentmayrelievethemfromthethought.

Theymustnotbeignoredbecausethatwillgivethemafeelingofbeingrejectedbytheworld,

makingthemfeelworthlessbecausetheiropinionandfeelingarenotvaluedbyothers.


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7. Reflection

Inthisstudy,Ihavenotonlygainedmuchknowledgeaboutthecausesandwaysof

preventionforsuicide,butalsoaboutorganizingandcollectingofdata.Itwasdifficulttofindatopic

forthisstudyandIthinkthetitlemightbetoobroad.IfIweregiventhechancetoworkfurtheron

this,IwouldnarrowdownthetopicandusetheenquiryformethodsforpreventingsuicideinHong

Kongasthecentre.Also,toincreaseaccuracy,muchmoredataisneededandthereshouldbea

biggerbaseforthequestionnaire.Teenagerslivingindifferentdistrictsshouldbeaskedtodothe

questionnaireasthosefromdifferentdistrictsmayfacedifferentproblems.

Itwassurprisingformetoknowthatmanypeoplewouldignorethepersonwhenothers

expressdesireforsuicide.ThismightbeoneofthecausesthatthesuiciderateisnotlowinHong

Kong.

Seeingthatthehotlinesarenotusefulinpreventingsuicide,Ithinkorganizationsthatprovide

thehotlineandsupportprogrammescouldthinkofotherprojectssothattheirresourcescanbeputto

usemoreefficiently.

Moreover,furtherstudyisneededforacomparisonbetweenfactorstroublingthosewhohave

andhavenotattemptedsuicidetobemade,sothatthespecificanddefinitecausesofsuicidecanbe

found.Also,controlledstudiesonthedifferentcausesofsuicideareneededtofindoutwhetherthey

arenecessaryorsufficientfactors.

(WordCount:3647)


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8. Bibliography

Books/Articles:1.Erikson,E.H.Identity: youth and crisis.NewYork:W.W.Norton&Company.1968.

2.Freedenberg,E.Learning to Cope: Developing as a Person in Complex Societies. Oxford:Oxford

UniversityPress.1999.

3.Gunnel,D.,FrankelS.PreventionofSuicide:AspirationsandEvidence.British Medical Journal,Vol.308,No.6938(May7,1994).p.12271233.

4.Lerner,R.M.Adolescence Development, Diversity, Context and Application UpperSaddleRiver,

N.J.:PearsonEducation,Inc.2002.

5.Marcia,J.E.Identityinadolescence.InJ.Adelson(Ed.).Handbook of Adolescent Psychology.NewYork:Wiley.1980.pp.159187.

Websites:1.http://www.sbhk.org.hk

2.http://csrp.hku.hk/WEB/big5/pageHandler.asp?id=91

3.http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/whattodo.htm

4.http://www.stanford.edu/group/adolescent.ctr/Conference/2003/2003cons.html

Newspaper:th

1.

22%,Ming Pao News, 28 December,2009.http://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/091228/4/fuve.html

2.19 7 ,A06,Hong Kong Daily News,24thOctober,2007.

3.05

64

,Hong Kong Economic Times, 10th

September2007.

th4. 74%, Wen Wei Po, 8 July,2007.
http://www.sbhk.org.hk/http://csrp.hku.hk/WEB/big5/pageHandler.asp?id=91http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/whattodo.htmhttp://www.stanford.edu/group/adolescent.ctr/Conference/2003/2003cons.htmlhttp://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/091228/4/fuve.htmlhttp://www.sbhk.org.hk/http://csrp.hku.hk/WEB/big5/pageHandler.asp?id=91http://www.metanoia.org/suicide/whattodo.htmhttp://www.stanford.edu/group/adolescent.ctr/Conference/2003/2003cons.htmlhttp://hk.news.yahoo.com/article/091228/4/fuve.html


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Appendix

Questionnaire:


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Charts:


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Interview transcript 1 (with a F.5 student)

Date:9th

Nov,20XX

Time:4.154.45pm

Modeofinterview:personalinterview

Generally why do you want to harm or kill yourself?

Iconstantlyhaveconflictswithmyparentsandsiblings.IgetscoldedallthetimeandIfeelvery

helplessbecauseIcanneverwininarguments.Also,Ifeeltrappedathomebecausethereisnowhere

elseformetogo.MystudiesarealrightbutIstarttoloseinterestinit.Ihavebeenapproachedby

teachersforafewtimesbecauseofmydeterioratingresults.

Iwouldnotharmmyselfbecausethewoundswillnotbeeasytoconceal.Whenteachersorparentssee

them,theywillprobablymakemetalktothemandthatwilljustmakelifeworse.

When was the first time when you harm/kill yourself?

IwasinF.2andIhadaconflictwithmymother.AfterthatItookacutterandcutmywristbutIdidnt

killmyselfbecausethebladewastooblunt.Thiscooledmedownandittookmeaweektogetoverthe

urgetokillmyself.

When was the time when you were closest to killing yourself?

ItwasshortlyafterIharmedmyselfforthefirsttime.IhadalltheknivesoutlyinginfrontofmebutI

didnthavethechancetodoitbecauseIwasdiscovered.
http:///reader/full/4.15-4.45http:///reader/full/4.15-4.45


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What do you think can be done to people who want to kill or harm themselves?

Therearedosanddontsforthis.Youshouldremindthemoftheirinterestandwhattheywouldloseif

theykillthemselves.Thepersonapproachedisusuallytheonethattheythinkknowsthemmost,sothis

personshouldtrythebesttomakethemtalkbecausetherootoftheproblemandthusthesolutions

mustbefoundout.

Ontheotherhand,therearemanythingstoavoid.Peopleapproachedmustnotpretendthatnothing

happenedbecausetheoneaskingforhelpmayfeelthattheydonthavehopeorareburdenswhenthey

areneglected.Theyalsomustnotpretendtounderstandwhatthepersonissayingbecausetheymay

saythewrongsolutionsandmakethepersonfeelworse.Furthermore,theymustnotchangetheir

attitudetowardsthepersonandmustnottellothersaboutthecasewithouttheirconsent. Thisis

becauseitisthemthatthepersontrusts,notothers.Theyalsoshouldtrynottomentionthetalkagain

aftertheurgeforattemptingsuicideorselfharmisoverbecausethiswillmakethepersonfeelsad

again.

When do you think people with inclination for committing suicide or self-harm can do to prevent

themselves from putting their thoughts into action?

Ithinktheycantrytofindsomeonetrustworthytotalkto.Theycantrytomaintainsomespecial

interestsandavoidthingsthatwillmakethemwanttoharmthemselves.Astheygrowuptheywill

becomemorematureandwillhaveachangeinpersonalitysothattheywillnotwanttoharm

themselvesanymore.Ithinkitisnotveryusefultotalktoasocialworkeroranyonethatdonotknow

youwellbecausetheycannotgetaclearpictureofyoursituation.Theymaysaythewrongthingand


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makethesituationworse.Youwillnottrustthemsomuchastotellthemallyoursecretseither,soin

theendtheycanthelpyou.

Interview transcript 2 (with a F.7 student)

Date:7thDec,20XX

Time:4.004.15pm

Modeofinterview:personalinterview

When was the time when you harmed yourself most?

IwasinF.2andacutmywristtotrytokillmyself,butitwasnotenoughanditwasjustbleeding.The

othertimewasalsowhenIwasinF.2andIusedaknifetoslitmyfinger.

Why did you do that?

IwassufferingfromdepressionbecauseIdidntknowwhattodowithmylife.Myparentsoften

arguedandfoughteachother.MymindwasblankandIfelttheurgetodosomethingtomyself,like

whenIsawasharpruler,Iwantedtouseittocutmyself.

When was the time that the feeling lasted most and why was that?

ActuallyIamstillhavingthisfeeling.IthasbeentheresinceF.5butlastyearitwasnotsoserious.

What do you think can be done to people who want to kill or harm themselves?

Ithinkyouhavetoaskwhytheyaredoingsoandyouhavetoavoidtalkingaboutnegativethings.Also,

youhavetotakethepersonseriouslybecausewhenpeopleareasking,itindicatesthattheyactually

dontwanttogetthemselveshurt.Differentthingshavetobedonetodifferentpeoplebutmost
http:///reader/full/4.00-4.15http:///reader/full/4.00-4.15


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importantisthattheirweaknessesarenotmentionediftheyareonthevergeofkillingthemselves.

Peoplecantrytofocusonthepersonsintereststodiverttheattention.Theyshouldshowsupportand

trytoconvincethatbadthingscanbesolved.

When do you think people with inclination for committing suicide or self-harm can do to prevent

themselves from putting their thoughts into action?

Theycandevelopintereststosearchouttheirtalents.Thisistoshowthattheyarecapableof

something,whichwillgivethemsatisfactionandconfidence.Theyshouldalsotrytoputawaysharp

thingsorotherthingsthatmaytriggertheirdesiretokillorharmthemselves.


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Marks awarded and Comments:

Title: TeenageSuicideinHongKongandWaysforPrevention

StageIII

Marks: 89

Comments: Thisisanexampleofgoodenquiryandorganizationskills. Thecandidateisable toperformtriangulationwithdatacollectedfromdifferentsources, i.e.

the survey, interviews and secondary sources, demonstrating multiple

perspective thinking and formulating wellsupported arguments in the

discussionofthefindings. Besides,relevantconceptsareappliedasbasisfor

thedataanalysisandcrossreferencing.

Aconclusionwellgroundedonthefindingsisdrawn,respondingtothefocusquestions.

Furthermore,thecandidateevaluatesthelimitationsofthisstudyandmakes

somevalidsuggestionsforfurtherstudyoftheissue.

ies 2014 exemplar-teenage suicide in hong kong and ways for prevention.pdf

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