The last three years of global health crisis and restrictive measures have greatly disrupted our lives, but new data confirms that while dark thoughts have taken over, suicide rates are still falling in Quebec.
In the report entitled “Suicidal behavior in Quebec: portrait 2023”, published Monday by the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ), we can read that: “The pandemic has not caused an increase in suicides. »
The expert scientific advisor and lead author of the study, Pascale Levesque, acknowledges that the worst was expected because the pandemic would exacerbate a good number of risk factors.
However, she warns that we must avoid making a direct link between psychological distress and suicide. “It would be a somewhat simplistic causal link,” notes the researcher in an interview with The Canadian Press.
Among the protective factors that may have played a favorable role, Pascale Levesque mentions “several mental health prevention mechanisms” that have been deployed as well as a possible mobilization and solidarity effect in times of major upheaval.
seek help
The latest assessment, however, provides worrying information about young girls and young women who are more and more likely to confide in having had suicidal thoughts. This trend was taken from the last two “Québec Population Health Surveys” from the Institut de la statistique du Québec.
The INSPQ scientific advisor mentions that we can still see it as “a good thing”. “Given that the suicide rate is decreasing, particularly among young girls, we think that this population will perhaps seek more help. So that there is an openness to talking about suicide in the event of a crisis, but also a greater propensity to seek help, “says Ms.me Levesque.
At the same time, these girls and women are more likely to be hospitalized for reasons of a suicidal state than other population groups.
In general, young people aged 15 to 34 are also much more likely to seek help than older adults. For each case of suicide, 80 teenagers aged 15 to 19 and 36 young men aged 20 to 34 will try to obtain emergency support for their suicidal thoughts.
Among girls, the ratio rises to 248 adolescents aged 15 to 19 and 117 young women aged 20 to 34 who will seek help for their suicidal thoughts for each case of suicide.
We observe that the further one advances in the age groups, the less people call on aid resources.
“Probably young people at school are more surrounded, therefore more exposed to seeking help than older groups who may live alone and who are less exposed to getting help easily,” suggests the researcher as a hypothesis.
Men’s words
For the population as a whole, the suicide death rate continued to fall, reaching 12.3 deaths per 100,000 people in 2020, the lowest indicator in nearly 40 years in Quebec. Provisional figures for 2021 also point to another drop to 11.7.
Despite all the efforts made to offer aid and support resources, more than a thousand people still kill themselves every year in Quebec. There is still an imbalance between the sexes as men are three times more likely than women to take action.
Several hypotheses are raised by the author of the report, including that men are “perhaps less inclined to talk about their emotions and to seek help”, she says.
They could also be more alone, therefore without an entourage who could help them.
“Men need to talk more about their emotions and be inclined to seek help when needed,” concludes Ms.me Levesque.
Need help ? Do not hesitate to call the Quebec Suicide Prevention Line: 1 866 APPELLE (1 866 277-3553).