HONG KONG: The suicide rate of children under the age of 15 hit a historical high in Hong Kong last year with 11 young people taking their lives, an increase that experts partially attributed to learning disruptions caused by class suspensions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Based on Coroner's Court data, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention found the suicide rate of youth aged 15 or below in 2021 rose to 1.7 deaths per every 100,000 people, compared with 1.2 deaths in 2020 and 0.9 in 2019.
Among those who took their own lives in the academic year of 2021-22, four were aged 12 or below and the remaining 28 students were between 13 and 18.
The suicide rate for 15 to 24-year-olds also rose from 8.6 in 2020 to 9.3 last year, with cases involving females in this age group up from 4.4 in 2019 to 6.5 last year.
"The number of suicides among youth, especially those who are 15 or below, has become more concerning during the coronavirus pandemic," said Professor Yip Siu-fai, the director of the centre at the University of Hong Kong.
The centre further analysed 36 student cases between January 2021 and June 2022 based on information from police, including suicide notes.
Among the 36 cases, one was in primary school, 75% were secondary school students and eight were tertiary or university students.
More than 26% of these cases mentioned academic stress in their suicide notes, while 7.9% were elite students who said they were worried they could not finish their homework or felt exhausted by exams. Another 5.2% of them were students who studied abroad and returned to Hong Kong.
Nine of the students committed suicide on campus, comprising one primary school student, six who attended secondary school and two university students.
Kenus Leung pui-yee, an education psychologist at the centre, said the rise in student suicides was partially tied to academic performance, as children needed to adapt to many changes in their learning environment during the pandemic.
She said the transition from face-to-face to online classes caused adjustment issues for students, while a mixed-learning mode because of frequent changes caused by social-distancing restrictions disrupted the pace of learning and students' focus.
While most schools resumed half-day in-person classes in September, the curriculum was designed for full day teaching, Leung said.
"The packed schedule of learning materials needs to be squeezed into the shortened teaching period," she said. "Students might feel even more stressed."
She urged the Education Bureau to review the current curriculum for secondary education and adjust the learning pace for students, leaving some time for them to "take a break".
Yip said that for younger students, schools were places to develop social skills and intimate relationships with peers and teachers.
"The coronavirus pandemic has reduced the time for youngsters to form peer-bonding at school," he said.
Yip added that in other countries, school suspensions were the last measure for pandemic control, but in Hong Kong, it was the first.
He urged parents to get their children fully vaccinated so that they could spend more time at school, "which is better for their mental health".
Florence Cheung Fung-yee, a certified counsellor, added that parents also needed to provide positive emotions and support for their children by empowering family relationships and talking to them more.
"Families and schools should cooperate to help younger generations develop better mental health," she said.
Overall, the centre estimated the suicide rate in Hong Kong last year was 12.3, which was higher than the 12.1 recorded in 2020.
After adjusting for the age structure of the world population, the rate became nine, the same as the latest available world one.
The centre also noted the suicide rate of older people had always been higher than that of other age groups, with men aged 60 or above showing a significant increase, from 24.3 in 2020 to 27.3 in 2021, compared with the slight decrease for elderly women, from 14.9 in 2020 to 14.6 in 2021.