[Suicide in schoolchildren (author's transl)]

Suicides by 66 children aged from 9 to 16 years (47 boys, 19 girls) and attempted suicides by 22 children (8 boys, 14 girls) are reported. Poisoning by mouth and hanging are the most common forms of suicide. The provocation for suicide may be trifling whereas the motivation, not always explicable even in children, is a multifactorial problem. 12 children wrote farewell letters, 5 announced their intention of suicide but were not taken seriously and 9 had already attempted suicide before succeeding. Most of the children (56 = 70%) lived with their parents at the time of the act, 14 (10%) had already shown behavior disorders before the act. Announcements of suicide should be taken seriously, even with children; they could perhaps be prevented by correct adult behavior.