Suizide unter Kindern, Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen während der COVID-19-Pandemie – Eine Analyse von Polizeidaten aus drei Bundesländern

Zusammenfassung

Zielsetzung Von der COVID-19-Pandemie waren junge Menschen stark betroffen, was zu erhöhter psychischer Belastung und steigenden Prävalenzraten für psychische Störungen geführt hat. Es besteht die Sorge, dass neben einem beobachteten Anstieg der Suizidversuche auch die Suizide zugenommen haben.

Methode Die Studie basiert auf der Polizeilichen Kriminalstatistik (01/2017 bis 12/2022) von drei Flächenbundesländern in Deutschland, die 13 % der Gesamtbevölkerung Deutschlands repräsentieren. Die Suizidzahlen und -raten für die Altersgruppen der Kinder, Jugendlichen, Heranwachsenden und jungen Erwachsenen wurden mit Hilfe von Chi-Quadrat-Tests zwischen dem präpandemischen und dem pandemischen Zeitraum verglichen.

Ergebnisse 860 Personen unter 30 Jahren starben durch Suizid. Die Suizidraten unterschieden sich in keiner der untersuchten Altersgruppen zwischen dem präpandemischen und dem pandemischen Zeitraum.

Schlussfolgerung Bislang ist kein Anstieg der Suizide unter jungen Deutschen zu erkennen. Ein kontinuierliches Suizidmonitoring wird empfohlen.

Abstract

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected young people, resulting in increased psychological distress and rising prevalence rates for mental disorders. There is concern that completed suicides have increased in addition to the observed increase in suicide attempts.

Method The study is based on the police crime statistics (01/2017 to 12/2022) of three federal states in Germany, representing 13% of Germany’s overall population. Suicide counts and rates for the child, teenage, adolescent, and young adult age groups were compared between the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods using chi-squared tests.

Results 860 people under age 30 died from suicide. Suicide rates did not differ between the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods in any of the age groups studied.

Conclusion So far, there has been no discernible increase in suicides among young Germans. Ongoing suicide monitoring is recommended.

Schlüsselwörter

Suizid - Adoleszenz - COVID-19 - Pandemie - Deutschland

Key words

suicide - adolescence - COVID-19 - pandemic - Germany

Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 05. Juni 2023

Angenommen: 07. September 2023

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
09. Oktober 2023

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