Are student suicides preventable?

Every suicide has a unique background story. But educators believe that, generally speaking, the reason for the recent spate of student suicides is down to more than the pressure put on students by our competitive education system. The main reason is the lack of support from parents, who push their children to achieve more without building a loving, trusting and supportive relationship with them.

In Western countries, the suicides of young people are usually related to substance abuse, drinking, and sex, according to Dr Paul Yip, director, Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, Hong Kong University. But suicides in Hong Kong related to these problems are few, and in the last two years, none have been reported.

“Data from the past two years shows the reasons [for suicide] were adjustment and relationship problems, and mental illness,” says Yip, who has researched suicide for over 20 years. “More than 50 per cent of the cases result from family and relationship problems. These exist in divorced or single-parent families, and remarried households with a step-parent,” says Yip.

All Hong Kong parents have to work long hours, regardless of their economic standing. Children also work 12-hour days, taking into account school, cram school, and their extra-curricular activities. At the end of a long working day, parents may have one or two hours to spend with their children, during which time they focus on helping with their homework, rather than building an intimate and trusting relationship.

In lower-income families, these problems are more pronounced. The suicide rate is 2.5 times higher in the bottom 20 per cent of households, says Yip, who is also the head of the recently formed Committee on Prevention of Student Suicides. “We read suicide notes which tell the parents, ‘I have not talked to you for a long time.’ Poverty in Hong Kong is real. Parents have to work long hours to sustain income, and long working hours do not promote good relationships. They adversely affect mental wellbeing. We cannot ignore poverty, especially in families with young children,” he says. 

The Hong Kong Institute of Family Education (HKIFE) hosts workshops and seminars which help parents understand their parenting responsibilities. The workshops take place in around 100 kindergartens. It’s good to start early, as once a relationship with a child has been set, parents may feel it’s too late to do anything about it, says Dr Tik Chi-yuen, the institute’s chief executive. Parents of small children have not yet lost the motivation to learn.