Trends and prevalence of suicide among children and young people in Türkiye

Abstract

Suicide among youth is a major public health issue, and each country has implemented different suicide prevention policies and strategies throughout the years. This study aims to analyse the frequency of suicides and changing of suicide methods among children and young people in Türkiye during the last 15 years. Annual data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) were utilised retrospectively in this study. Data about suicide rate and methods were analysed by the Joinpoint Regression Program. Over the years between 2009 and 2023, changes in suicide rate and trends in suicide methods were revealed. There were 12,745 suicide deaths among children and young people. These comprised 25.07% of total suicide deaths last 15 years. The age-specific suicide death rates increased with an average annual percent change of 1.46%. Hanging was the most used suicide method in total (n = 5313; 41.69%) and in both sexes (n = 3591, 44.26% in males; n = 1722, 37.18% in females), followed by using firearms in second place and jumping from heights in third, overall. Suicide death rates caused by jumping increased significantly by 6.9% per year. In contrast, suicide deaths by hanging decreased approximately 1.45% annually. Determining the prevalence and trends of suicide methods is crucial for identifying high-risk populations. This knowledge is essential for formulating and executing effective suicide prevention strategies.

Keywords

Adolescent young people suicide methods trend analysis forensic medicine

Introduction

Suicide has a significant impact on people, families and society worldwide and is widely acknowledged as a serious public health concern. In 2019, approximately 703,000 individuals died due to suicide.¹ Age-standardised suicide rates worldwide have decreased by 36% over the last two decades; however, these rates have increased in the Americas Region.^1,2

Suicide is acknowledged as one of the leading causes of mortality among adolescents and young people.^1,3,4 Suicide attempts and suicidal ideation are also observed at high rates during childhood.^5–7 Suicidal behaviours in young people are associated with developmental, psychiatric, familial and social factors.⁸ Depressive disorders, behavioural issues and substance use are significant risk factors.^9,10 Factors include mental diseases, prior suicide attempts, impulsiveness, the loss of friends, peer rejection, educational difficulties, physical or sexual abuse and neglect, insecure attachment and familial conflict, which have been identified as significant risk factors during adolescence.^11–13 Familial dynamics have been recognised as the most important risk factor for suicide attempts in children under the age of 13.^14,15

Previous studies analysed the predominant methods of suicide in different countries. Typically, these methods included firearms, hanging, jumping from heights and intoxication.^16,17 The sociodemographic and sociocultural composition of society, as well as commonly used transportation options and infrastructure features (e.g. bridges and subways), or the availability of guns or toxic substances influenced the frequency of suicide methods. The most commonly used method pattern may not occur in the same way in every country or even in different cities within the same country.¹⁸ This information highlights the necessity of tailored suicide prevention strategies based on specific methods for every different country. The unique physical and psychological traits of children and young people suggest that their suicide rates will differ from those of older age groups. Determining the prevalence and trends of suicide methods is crucial for identifying high-risk populations. This knowledge is essential for formulating and executing effective suicide prevention strategies.

Türkiye has promoted the growth of a various social strata because of its geographic location and dynamic demographic structure, which is typified by a sizable youth population and its proximity to important migration routes. Furthermore, Türkiye has a distinct sociological profile because of its status as a developing economy and the coexistence of Western and Eastern sociocultural traits. The examination of the changing trends in suicide rates and methods among youth in Türkiye is increasingly acknowledged as a critical focus in global suicide research. Despite the magnitude and critical nature of the problem, national studies addressing this issue are noticeably lacking. Therefore, an explanation of national trends in children's and young people's suicide methods is critically needed and should be closely monitored. The objectives of the current study are to determine the frequency of suicides and analyse trends in suicide methods among children and young people in Türkiye during the 15-year period between 2009 and 2023.

Methods

Sources of data

Annual data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) were utilised in this study. Statistics provided by TURKSTAT emphasise its role as a government organisation that disseminates statistical data across economic, social, demographic and health domains to meet the needs of the country. Every year, TURKSTAT released death and suicide data for the previous year. The suicide data published by TURKSTAT are compiled from multiple sources. Suicide statistics for the years between 1975 and 2011 were sourced from the General Directorate of Security and the General Command of the Gendarmerie. Therefore, these two organisations, police and gendarmerie, were the only official sources for suicide incidents until 2012. These organisations used standard suicide statistics forms, which were submitted to TURKSTAT for the compilation. TURKSTAT's suicide statistics have been expanded since 2012 by data from institutions where suicides happened, such as the Directorate General of Prisons and Detention Houses and the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces. Suicide statistics spanning 2009–2023 were extracted from TURKSTAT's official website as featured in the 2024 news bulletin.

Variables

The Convention on the Rights of the Child defines the child as a human who is below the age of 18 years.¹⁹ The World Health Organisation (WHO) categorises ‘young people’ as those aged 10 to 24 years.²⁰ In accordance with the WHO standard age classifications, we collected data about children and young people. In our research, three different age groups were used, which were aged <15 years, 15–19 years and 20–24 years. We used suicide data based on various variables, including sex, age groups and method of suicide (e.g. hanging, chemicals, jumping from heights, drowning, firearms, burning, sharp instruments, natural gas or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), trains or other motorised vehicles and others). The crude and age-specific (crude) suicide death rates were presented as per 100,000 population. The crude rates per 100,000 population for each suicide method were calculated by dividing the number of suicides by the mid-year population (sex- or age-group-specific population) of the corresponding year.

Statistics

Descriptive statistics were presented in terms of numbers, percentages and mean values. Pearson's chi-square tests were employed to analyse the relationships between categorical variables. The Joinpoint Regression Program developed by the National Cancer Institute was used to examine changes in the variables mentioned over a 15-year period. Joinpoint regression analysis, commonly utilised in cancer epidemiology,²¹ has recently been employed in suicide research.^22,23 This method models linear trends in suicide-related deaths over time and detects significant changes in these trends, termed inflection points. The analysis initially begins with a model containing zero joinpoints. After that, permutation tests are utilised to ascertain whether the inclusion of joinpoints significantly improves the model fit. This permutation testing procedure ascertains the total quantity of joinpoints in the last model. An annual percent change (APC) is calculated for each segment between joinpoints to quantify the trend within that interval. Also, average annual percent change (AAPC) in suicide rate was calculated. AAPC serves as a summary measure for the period from 2009 to 2023. APC and AAPC were calculated for sex and age groups. We identified significant changes using the APC and AAPC results. These results were considered to be statistically significant if their confidence interval did not include the zero value. We used the parametric method to calculate 95% confidence intervals for the analyses. The significance level was 0.05 (p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant with a 2-sided test). We established a cut-off value of ten cases annually to improve statistical accuracy according to literature.²² For suicide methods with fewer than ten cases per year, we presented only descriptive data. Statistical analyses (descriptive statistics and chi-square test) were conducted using SPSS version 23.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) on a Windows platform. Also, trend analyses were performed using the Joinpoint Regression Program (version 5.3.0; Statistical Research and Applications Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA).

Ethics committee approval was not required for this study because the dataset consisted of publicly available. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Results

Overall trend analysis

There were 50,824 suicide deaths between 2009 and 2023 in Türkiye. The number of suicide deaths among children and young people in these years was 12,745 and comprised 25.07% of total suicide deaths in the last 15 years. The majority of deaths (n = 6098; 47.84%) were of young people aged 20–24 years. 1279 (10.03%) of suicide deaths were of individuals under 15 years. Most of the suicides (n = 8114; 63.66%) were of males. Among individuals under the age of 15, the female suicide death rate and number were generally higher than those of males.

Age-specific suicide death rates (ASDR) increased in the period examined (4.02 in 2009, 4.76 in 2023). The highest suicide rate occurred in the 20–24 age group for males in 2023 and in the 15–19 age group for females in 2010. The lowest suicide rate in males and females was both under 15 years, which took place in 2020 for males and in 2019 for females. The lowest suicide rates for both males and females occurred in individuals under 15 years of age, with males recording the lowest rates in 2020 and females in 2019 (Supplemental Table 1).

ASDR from 2009–2023 increased with an AAPC of 1.46%. ASDR among those under 15 years took a dramatic decline between 2009 and 2023, with an APC of −3.21%. Conversely, we have observed a continuous increase in ASDR between the ages of 20 and 24 since 2009. Yearly changes in that group were statistically significant, with an APC of 3.69%. ASDR increased over years in males (AAPC of 2.07%). In the examined time period, the female age-specific death rate increased minimally in general (AAPC of 0.34%). ASDR was on a downward trend between 2009 and 2019 (APC of −1.95%) and an upward trend between 2019 and 2023 (APC of 6.29%) in females. The trend has been different when analysed by age group in both sexes as shown in Figure 1 and Supplemental Table 2.

Figure 1.

Trends in suicide death rates among children and young people. (a) All age groups, (b) under age 15 years, (c) aged 15–19 years and (d) aged 20–24 years.

Comparison of the proportion of suicide methods

During the time covered in the study, hanging was the most used suicide method in total (n = 5313; 41.69%) and both sexes (n = 3591, 44.26% in males; n = 1722; 37.18% in females), followed by using firearms in second place and jumping from heights in third. All three age groups and sexes found this ranking nearly consistent. However, among females aged 20–24, jumping from heights was second and using firearms was identified as the third most used method. A higher prevalence of usage of methods like jumping from heights and taking chemicals was noted among women. The least common method was burning themselves both sexes, among those methods. The number and proportional distribution of suicide cases by method are shown in Supplemental Table 3.

The Pearson chi-square test analysis was conducted to assess the association between sex, age group and the methods of suicide. A statistically significant result was found for both variables (x² = 743.407, p < 0.001 by sex; x² = 125.075, p < 0.001 by age groups). The proportion of using firearms and hanging was higher among males whereas among females, jumping from heights and taking chemicals were higher compared to their male counterparts. The proportions of used suicide methods used varied across age groups. Hanging was the most prevalent method among individuals under the age of 15. There was a significant rise in using firearms for proportional death after the age of 15. The incidence of taking chemicals and jumping from heights was higher in the 15–19 age group. The use of sharp instruments was noticeably increased in the 20–24 age group.

Trends in suicide methods

We analysed the changes in suicide methods over time in total and by sex (Figure 2). ASDR increased through methods such as taking chemicals, jumping from heights, using firearms, drowning and using a sharp instrument in the total examined population. Among these methods, suicide death rates caused by jumping increased significantly by 6.9% per year. In general, suicide death rates due to jumping were on an upward trend between 2009 and 2014 (APC of 9.11%) and 2017 and 2023 (APC of 11.69%), but there was a decrease in these rates from 2014 to 2017. Female suicide deaths primarily caused this fluctuating pattern. Over time, the suicide death rate due to jumping from heights increased continuously among males. In contrast, suicide deaths by hanging decreased approximately 1.45% annually (AAPC of −1.45%). In male suicide, the use of firearms and jumping from heights increased by 2.49% and 7.34%, respectively, at a statistically significant level. The decrease in ASDR among females by using a firearm (AAPC of −5.2%) and hanging (AAPC of −3.77%) was also statistically significant. Suicide death rates due to taking chemicals increased in females (Supplemental Table 4). Since the other methods not discussed occurred in considerably lower numbers, trend analysis could not be employed.

Figure 2.

Trends in suicide methods by age and sex. (a) All age groups, (b) male, (c) female, (d) under age 15 years, (e) aged 15–19 years and (f) aged 20–24 years.

In this study, we also conducted trend analysis for methods by age groups. Under the age of 15, hanging and firearm-related suicide rates sharply decreased over time, approximately −6.76% and −4.79% per year. Suicide rates due to jumping from heights increased statistically significantly in the 15–19 and 20–24 age groups. Suicide rates among young people aged 20–24 years increased nearly across all methods. Among them, suicide caused by firearms, hanging and jumping from heights increased at a statistically significant level (Supplemental Table 4).

Discussion

Suicides among children and young people are an important public health issue because of their effects on families and society. Suicides in these age groups are important due to unique developmental, psychological and social elements inherent to their ages. To implement preventive strategies, it is critical to determine the suicide rate among age groups and sex separately in each society. In this study, we aimed to not only describe overall statistics about suicide among children and young people but also examine trends in suicide rates and methods with a view to providing more understanding of this health issue.

Trends in suicide rates

A report published by the WHO in 2019 indicates that global suicide rates have decreased by 36% over the last two decades. The report highlighted some regional disparities in suicide rates. Suicide rates decreased nearly 17% in the Eastern Mediterranean region and 47% in the European region. Only in the Americas Region, suicide rate increased by 17%.¹ Despite this declining trend, suicide was one of the top five major causes of death among the 15–24 age group globally.²⁴ Due to regional and demographic differences, some studies have published results that contradict these trends.^25,26 In our study, suicide death rates among children and young people increased over the years. These trends were consistent with some regional studies that showed upward trends in suicide deaths among adolescents.^27,28 We believe that the stressors associated with the social, psychological and developmental facets of adolescence, along with various familial adversities, impair individuals in this age group from effectively managing difficult situations. Also, we found that the highest suicide death rate in this age group was young people aged 20–24 years. These findings reveal that suicide-related deaths increase with age, especially during young adulthood. It was hypothesised that new stressor events such as educational failure or economic problems emerged in this period. In addition, suicide rates among children and young people, except individuals under the age of 15, increased after 2019. The increasing suicide trends after 2019 were consistent with recent studies that research the effect of the pandemic on suicide events.²⁹ Social isolation, increased youth exposure to trauma from family members and diminished access to healthcare services due to mental health conditions were attributed to elevated suicidal behaviour.²⁹ Anxiety about achieving academic success, socioeconomic factors, peer victimisation (including cyberbullying) and problematic use of social media contributed to suicidal thoughts and behabiours.^30–32 To further evaluate, prospective, multicentre observational research may be required to identify risk factors and assess changes over time.

Sex differences in suicide rates and methods

Globally, age-standardised suicide rates are often higher in males (12.6/100,000) compared to females (5.4/100,000).¹ The female suicide rate is only higher for individuals aged 15–19 among other age groups globally. Yet, the male-to-female suicide ratio in this age group range has continuously risen over time.²⁴ Some studies emphasise that male suicide has a higher proportion of death than female suicide among the pre-adolescent and adolescent periods.^25,33,34 In this study, the female suicide death rate was higher than the male after the age of 15. This finding was inconsistent with global data.²⁴ Furthermore, the male-to-female suicide ratio is lower among young people aged 15–19. Also, some precipitating factors of suicidal behaviours are shown in the results of the study that investigates suicide behaviours among Turkish immigrants in Europe.³⁵ These results indicate that there may be some cultural factors related to the reasons. The concepts of gender roles significantly influence life within the patriarchal system in Türkiye. Forced into undesirable marriages at an early age, restrictions on personal autonomy by the family and low educational status were some components of the patriarchal system, especially in a traditional rural area.^35,36 The earlier onset of cognitive development in females may result in a more pronounced perception of familial difficulties during childhood. Early biopsychosocial changes may contribute to elevated stress and anxiety, as families are prone to impose economic or social expectations on the child prematurely. We reveal that there was a sex paradox in adolescents by comparison with other studies from Türkiye about suicidal behaviour among adolescents with our findings.^37,38

Trends in suicide methods

Studies on suicide among children and adolescents indicated that the prevalence of suicide methods varies significantly among countries.¹⁶^39–41 In South Korea, the most common method was jumping from heights, whereas in Japan, hanging was the most prevalent for both males and females.³⁹ A study in Norway highlighted sex disparities about suicide methods among adolescents and young people, revealing that 37% of male suicides consisted of using firearms, but 39% of female suicides employed hanging.²³ According to our study, the three most common methods among children and young people were hanging, firearms and jumping from heights, respectively. Consistent with prior research, our study found that there were differences in suicide methods by sex.^16,23 Males were more likely to use firearms and hang themselves, while females were far more likely to jump from heights and self-poison. Accessibility to methods is a crucial factor in the choice of suicide methods.⁴² Thus, it might be claimed that hanging – easily accessible in the home and associated with high mortality – is the most used method among children and young people. It would appear that a confluence of sociocultural norms, accessibility and regulatory deficiencies are the factors that have contributed to the prevalence of certain suicide methods in Türkiye.

In the United States, the prevalence of all suicide methods has increased over the past two decades, correlated with an overall increase in suicide rates. Additionally, the study highlighted the sharp rise in firearm-related suicides among those between the ages of 10 and 14.²² In our study, findings showed that there was a rise in firearm-related suicide death rates among individuals aged 20–24 and a decrease under the age of 15 years. Parents’ increased awareness of the issue and precautionary measures to prevent their children's access to weapons may explain this trend. The increased prevalence of gun ownership after the age of 20 could be associated with these results, which are presumably related to the legal age restriction for firearm acquisition. In Türkiye, the minimum age required for owning a firearm is set at 21 years.⁴³ The minimum age for owning smoothbore hunting shotguns is 18.⁴⁴ It is obligatory to acquire a medical report confirming that the individual does not have any mental illness or physical disability that would prevent firearm ownership. Substantial discrepancies were present between the official data on civilian firearm ownership and international estimates.^45,46 This discrepancy is believed to arise from the fact that official statistics in Türkiye account solely for newly issued or renewed licences, while the statistical gap may be attributed to the presence of unregistered firearms.⁴⁷

Poisoning-related suicides have shown an increasing trend throughout the years in the United States.²² Poisonings could occur from the use of drugs or harmful substances (e.g. pesticides, herbicides, etc.). A significant decrease in suicide rates due to pesticides has occurred in some countries because of the implementation of restrictive regulations on organophosphate chemicals.^48,49 In our study, suicide death rates by taking chemicals have increased over time. Also, taking chemicals was higher in females than in males. Various linked factors may contribute to the increasing number of suicide deaths involving chemical use. Depression and anxiety are recognised risk factors for suicidal behaviour, and individuals receiving ongoing treatment may have increased access to prescription medications, leading to an intentional overdose.⁵⁰ The easy availability of toxic household products, including those for cleaning or agricultural pesticides, might increase the risk. Throughout the years, changes in suicide methods have been observed. For example, the decrease in suicide death rates with hanging over the years, alongside the increase in suicides due to taking chemicals, reflects a similar pattern to that in Japan.⁵¹ Cultural factors could affect method choice,⁵² as some people may avoid violent methods and regard taking chemicals as a more lethal and painless alternative. These findings highlight the necessity for comprehensive suicide prevention strategies that encompass both access to mental health care and regulations regarding the acquisition of chemicals. Regional studies in Türkiye revealed that medical drugs, pesticides or other substances such as cyanide have been utilised.^53,54 Unfortunately, due to the absence of specified chemical subgroups in these data provided by TURKSTAT, a trend analysis of the compounds has not been feasible.

The most notable finding was the gradually increase in suicide rates associated with jumping from heights among all age groups and sexes. This finding was consistent with the trends observed in specific country statistics.⁵⁵ Previous studies have revealed factors associated with that method, highlighting females and young individuals as significant demographic groups.⁵⁶ Moreover, instances of suicide by jumping have been increasingly noted among inpatients, individuals with psychotic disorders and those with prior unsuccessful suicide attempts.^57–59 The growing number of deaths by jumping from heights in Türkiye may be related to urbanisation and easier access to high-rise buildings. The high fatality rate of the method and the relative ease with which it can be implemented could both be plausible explanations for the potential increase in its use among children and young people. Also, it was hypothesised that these kinds of events occur in public areas and get substantial coverage in both traditional and social media, potentially encouraging copycat suicides.⁶⁰

Implications for policy and prevention

A national suicide prevention policy must be established utilising evidence-based strategies recommended by the WHO and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).^61,62 Interventions should be implemented at the individual, familial and community levels. Programmes for children and adolescents need to emphasise the acquisition of coping and problem-solving skills to handle stressors and personal problems.⁶¹ Social and health-focused courses integrated into school curricula can mitigate problems such as peer victimisation, substance abuse and hazardous social media conduct. Parenting skills should be enhanced through social service programmes targeting families.⁶³ Public awareness campaigns must confront conventional gender roles to reduce risk factors like early marriage and school dropout, which are frequently established in gender-based expectations. Access to health services for people with mental health issues needs to be improved. A national suicide crisis hotline should be instituted and publicised. The telephone support is practical and versatile, making it straightforward to implement on a widespread basis.⁶⁴ Individuals who contacted the hotline should be regularly followed up on.

The method of suicide that an individual chooses to use can vary and is influenced by factors such as accessibility, regional and cultural differences and the individual's status. Consequently, recognising region- and country-specific trends in the prevalence and temporal variation of suicide methods is crucial for developing health policies and enacting legislation about comprehensive prevention and protective strategies. Regulations such as raising the minimum age for firearm ownership, mandating a certificate training programme and considering regular psychological evaluations during licence time, should be installed to regulate firearm ownership. Promoting safe storage practices in households, such as keeping firearms and ammunition stored separately and out of children's reach, is essential to prevent youth access. The regulation of the sale and storage of chemicals and pesticides should be more rigorous.⁶⁵ Safety measures such as locked cabinets may prevent children's access. Only provide prescribed drugs at dosages appropriate for the duration of treatment to reduce the risk of overdosing. Also, restricting access to high-risk buildings, for example, bridges, rooftops and other urban hot spots, by installing physical barriers as well as reducing the opening range of windows in schools, may help decrease suicide attempts by jumping.⁶⁶ Social media and online gaming have shown substantial growth throughout the years. Also known that online games that induce repeated self-harming activities themselves could eventually develop suicidal thoughts and attempts in children.⁶⁷ Hence, government regulation for the online games must be necessary to protect children.

Strengths and limitations

The study's design is one of its strengths. This study, focusing on children and young people and analysing changes over a 15-year period (2009–2023), provides significant findings that could contribute to the literature and influence the development of effective preventive strategies. Another strength of this study is the statistical methodology it employs. The regression-based model allowed a clear understanding of temporal trends in suicide rates stratified by age and sex, as well as changes in the prevalence of suicide methods.

This study has a few limitations, and its findings must be evaluated in the context of these limitations. In the examined years, there may be instances of misclassifying suicides as unintentional or natural deaths or the possibility of underreporting suicide deaths. These factors could affect the interpretation of trends over time. Another limitation of this study is the design and collection of data by TURKSTAT. Since 2012, TURKSTAT has increased the number of data sources for suicide cases to enhance the comprehensiveness of data collection across the country. Suicide deaths for the period between 2009 and 2011 are considered underreported because the data did not include cases from the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces and the Directorate General of Prisons and Detention Houses. Our research was conducted only using some demographic data (age, sex), which was presented by TURKSTAT, and allowed the analysis of changes in suicide methods over the years only through the limited variables provided. Some variables, such as education level, marital status, socioeconomic status or gender identity, are important aspects in understanding suicidal behaviours; their association with suicide could not be analysed due to the mentioned limitation. Future studies should address this gap and research other important demographic factors. The classification of suicide methods under the category of ‘other’ without further explanation, which we could not analyse changes of these methods, constitutes an additional limitation of our study. Regional autopsy studies are needed to clarify ‘other’ methods and explore the temporal changes of them. One of the limitations is the regression analysis method that has been employed. That method has a risk of overfitting caused by outliers or abrupt changes in the data. We avoided conducting trend analyses when case counts were too low (10 cases per year) to minimise this bias.

Conclusion

The suicide rate in Türkiye is still a major public health issue, even though it is lower than in other European countries. The rising prevalence of suicides among children and young people requires the implementation of tailored intervention strategies. We identified differences in suicide methods among age groups and sexes. The increasing prevalence of individuals aged between 15 and 24 was concerning. The rise in the number of deaths by firearm among males and jumping from heights as a suicide method among individuals aged 15 and over represent critical issues that must be urgently addressed. The findings of the study yield important insights through a detailed examination of suicide death prevalence and temporal changes of suicide methods among children and young people in Türkiye.

The increasing firearm-related suicide rate among males and young people indicates that there must be comprehensive national legislation about firearm ownership. Furthermore, the recent increase in chemical-related suicides necessitates preventative measures to access them. Another prevention technique is to install barriers and safety nets at suicide hotspots to prevent accessibility. We also believe that the challenges of acquiring chemicals or restricted access to firearms have resulted in alternative methods. Because of that, national prevention strategies aim to reduce the incidence of suicide deaths and enact targeted interventions for suicidal individuals, as well as long-term comprehensive prevention strategies. The national suicide prevention action plan ensures and raises awareness of the increasing rate of children and young people's suicides in society.

Considering the different aspects such as legal regulations, sociocultural norms and accessibility that are associated with the choice of suicide methods, future research should investigate the causes of method selection. National psychological autopsy studies and large observational population-based studies are necessities for understanding suicidal behaviours. Furthermore, a sustained commitment to multidisciplinary research, involving public health, psychiatry, education and social policy, is essential to guide evidence-based prevention strategies.

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-msl-10.1177_00258024251408637 - Supplemental material for Trends and prevalence of suicide among children and young people in Türkiye

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-msl-10.1177_00258024251408637 for Trends and prevalence of suicide among children and young people in Türkiye by Emre Nuri İgde and Burak Tastekin in Medicine, Science and the Law

Footnotes

ORCID iDs

Emre Nuri İgde

Burak Tastekin

Ethical considerations

No ethical board decision was required for this study, as the data utilised were obtained from an open-access database. Our study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study were obtained from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) official website ().

Supplemental material

Supplemental material for this article is available online.

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