suicide, the most urgent of all urgencies in child psychiatry

one of the most sensitive problems, facing child psychiatry, is tire attempt to destroy oneself among children and adolescents. consideration of a child’s way of thinking in regards of self-destruction and parents understanding of the problem is of utmost importance. suicide constitutes the third most prevalent cause leading to untimely deaths among adolescents between 15 and 24 years of age, and it claims 6000 lives annually only among adolescents. the most prevalent methods employed by boys are tire use of firearms and explosives, while girls prefer poisons and drugs. poisoning, this may occur after the age of six, is rarely accidental and should be contemplated as a behavior pertinent to self-destruction attempt. nine-to-ten year - old children do not genuinely understand death, and suicidal attempts among them are rare. these attempts must not be regarded as their serious desire to die. among adolescents the strong belief in revenge and animosity is too obvious, which is normally aimed at others or themselves. the relevant risk factors regarding children and adolescents self-destructive tendencies include: depression and threat to self-destruction which usually implicates their despair and must be taken into consideration seriously. it’s highly recommended that suicidal patients in doctors, offices and hospital emergency wards be hospitalized for 2-3 days so that a better appraisal of their mentality and their environment as well as their relationship with their parents can be made.