Suicide among young people: An epidemiological analysis in three Italian Provinces

Background: suicides among young people, aged between 10 and 24, were assessed over the period examined (1988 - 1994) in the Italian Provinces of Turin and Novara-Verbania. Method: data was collected from the Archives of the Law Courts from the Provinces examined. We assessed trend and sociodemographic variables. Results: the rates of suicide found are in accordance with previous data. Suicide is more frequent in higher age groups and among males. Males choose more lethal methods to commit suicide. Psychiatric illness is the most frequent reason reported, along with problems typically present in the juvenile population, such as psychosocial reasons and substance abuse. Conclusions: trend of suicide is strongly linked to demographic variables and to specific problems of adolescence.