The study on Mental Health in Childhood and Adolescence carried out by the organization shows that suicide attempts attended in the last decade have increased by almost 26%
The ANAR Foundation received a total of 2,222 requests for help from minors and adolescents in the Region of Murcia through its telephone and chat during 2021, according to the Study on Suicidal Behavior and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents in Spain ( 2012-2022) carried out by this organization.
It should be noted that the Region of Murcia has an estimated child population of 306,125 people, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
At the national level, this report reflects that suicide attempts by minors assisted by the ANAR Foundation have multiplied by 25.9 in the last decade, going from 35 in 2012 to 906 so far in 2022.
The report reveals that, in these 10 years, the ANAR Foundation has received 600,000 requests for help and has helped 9,637 children and adolescents, 3,097 of whom called having already started the suicide attempt. The cases treated for suicidal ideation have also multiplied by 23.7.
The most common profile of minors who exhibit suicidal behavior is that of an adolescent woman between the ages of 13 and 17, from a migrant family, with a history of running away, who harms herself and has been a victim of sexual abuse. ANAR warns that having a disability or being part of the LGTBIQ community also increases the risk because they are more exposed to discrimination and exclusion.
According to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), in the year 2020 in Spain there were 314 suicides of minors. Although during the conduct of this study, the INE has not yet published the cases referring to 2021, the ANAR Foundation attended, that year alone, 748 minors who at the time of the call were trying to end their lives.
“The statistics of suicide among minors would be even more chilling in Spain if ANAR had not saved those almost 750 children and adolescents and the 1,961 more that we attended from our Help Lines when they were already planning their suicide”, stressed the Director of Programs of the ANAR Foundation, Benjamín Ballesteros.
Throughout ten years, ANAR has helped 9,637 minors who expressed suicidal behavior, whether it was suicidal ideation or attempted suicide and 63.8% of these cases attended to have been concentrated in the last three years, coinciding with the pandemic of the coronavirus.
Specifically, the number of cases with suicidal behavior experienced a growth of 1,921.3% in the last decade and 128% only in the period after Covid-19, between 2020 and 2022, something that ANAR attributes to the crisis situation. caused by the pandemic that has led to an increase in psychosocial risks (isolation, domestic abuse, overcrowding, abuse of technology, barriers to mental health care and poverty).
Although ANAR warns that there is no objective motivation for suicide, it points out that violence against minors (60.9%) and mental health (27.4%) are the most prominent problems associated with behavior suicide, with an increase in incidence in the period 2019-2022.
In addition, the report indicates that, among all types of violence, the most frequent are: bullying, cyberbullying and other difficulties in the school environment (21.4%), physical abuse (14.7%), psychological abuse (10.4% ), sexual assault (7.2%) and gender violence (3%).
In mental health, ANAR highlights three problems associated with suicidal behavior: self-harm (13.7%), psychological problems (8.7%) –sadness, depression, anxiety and eating disorders– and behavior problems (4 ,4%). Despite this, the foundation warns that, between 2019 and 2022, “only 44%” of children or adolescents with suicidal behavior have received psychological treatment.
Likewise, the study shows that technology (messaging services, social networks, video games) is involved in 45.7% of cases with suicidal ideation or attempt.
Considering the frequency, severity and urgency of the problems detected, ANAR has detected that more than two thirds of the consultations for suicidal behavior last more than a year (68.4%) and occur daily (70.2%). %). In addition, 86.2% are serious cases and 72.6% urgent.
In response to all the cases attended, between 2019 and 2022, ANAR has carried out 6,970 social and legal referrals, 5,829 in the case of suicidal ideation and 1,141 in suicide attempts; as well as 939 interventions, 854 for suicidal ideation and 85 for suicide attempt. For ANAR’s expert professionals, early detection of cases is essential to act as quickly as possible and minimize harm to minors.
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