[Suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts among 15-24 years old individuals in the Danish educational system]

The purpose of the study is by the instrumentality of an anonymous and voluntary interview study to expose the extent of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among 15-24-year-olds in the Danish educational system. 3042 persons participated in the study. About 40% of those interviewed had at least once had suicidal ideation and almost one in every twenty confirmed that they had attempted to commit suicide. Furthermore, the study showed that almost one in every ten had experienced suicide in the family. The study showed that frequent or chronical suicidal ideation and self-destructive behaviour can be considered risk factors of suicide attempts and possible predictors of future suicidal behaviour. It also appeared that the students who had experienced suicide in the family had a risk of committing suicide that was three times as high as that of the students who had not experienced suicide in the family. The results of the study also suggest that it is probably only the tip of the iceberg which is detected or registered by the treatment system. To all appearance, close on 75-90% of young suicide attempts are not registered officially. This bears witness of the fact that many of these 15-24-year-olds apparently received no help after their suicide attempt.