27 per cent of Hong Kong pupils think of suicide or self-harm, 63 per cent have sleeping disorders: Paediatric Society survey
More than a quarter of secondary school pupils had thoughts about taking their own life or self-harming in the past six months
More than a quarter of secondary school pupils had thought about committing suicide or self-harming in the past six months, a survey by the Paediatric Society and Paediatric Foundation found.
The groups dismissed a committee set up to prevent student suicides as “useless” and said promoting life education and health literacy – the ability to acquire basic medical information to make appropriate decisions – was more effective in tackling the root causes of the problem.
The survey, which interviewed 1,685 secondary school pupils from March to early April, found that 27 per cent of youngsters had considered harming themselves or committing suicide in the past six months.
Some 62 per cent had experienced signs such as feeling sad or crying for no reason, and 63 per cent had sleeping disorders.
“It is a serious issue to see one out of every three youngsters have considered suicide. The problem has always been here but not noticed by the public,” said Dr Lilian Wong Hiu-lei, the society’s president.
Sixty-six per cent of the pupils preferred seeking solutions to health problems on the internet rather than going to professionals.