* Extract from National Statistics News Release 10 March 2005

 

There were 5,755 adult suicides in the UK in 2003, the lowest number since 1973. Suicide rates for men, which were rising through the 1970s and 1980s, have decreased steadily since 1998. The rate for 2003, 18.1 deaths per 100,000 population, was the lowest since 1978.

Suicide rates for women, which fell steadily in the 1980s and early 1990s, have decreased only slightly since the mid-1990s. The rate for women remained around 5.8 deaths per 100,000 population in each of the years 2001 to 2003.

Suicide is much more for common for men than women. In 2003 men accounted for three-quarters of all suicides. This difference between the sexes widened in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1971 men accounted for slightly over half of all suicides (56 per cent)

There were large differences in suicide rates for men across England and Wales in the period 2000-2003. The highest rates were in Wales, the North West and North East. The lowest rates were in the East of England, London and the South East. The regional pattern was less clear for women than for men, although rates were highest in the North West and lowest in the

East of England.

Of the ten local authorities with the highest male suicide rates, six were in Wales, the North West and the North East. The highest rate for men was in Blackpool. At 39.1 deaths per 100,000 population this was over twice the average rate for England and Wales of 17.6.

The highest suicide rates for women in 2000-2003 were in Camden and Conwy at 13.8 and 13.6 deaths per 100,000 population respectively, around two and a half times the England and Wales rate of 5.5.

For more information see www.statistics.gov.uk

The statistics

Welcome to the fourth update on the RaPSS Project

Going UK-wide

The RaPSS research study has been running for one year now and we are currently at the stage of undertaking interviews with relevant informants.  These include family members, university staff and friends of students who have taken their own lives. It is proving interesting and informative to gather a range of different perspectives on both the antecedents to a student’s death and the ways in which universities have responded afterwards.

 

We are continuing to contact other universities to invite them to participate in the project. Of those contacted so far, about a third have not to their knowledge had a suicide in the last five years. Suicide is a sensitive issue and, while some cases have not been included in the study because the family did not view the death as a suicide, in some cases universities have refused to participate on the grounds that the issue was too sensitive or distressing.

 

However, we have now collected feedback from those who have completed interviews testifying to the positive nature of the experience and these comments are being fed back to university staff who express such concerns. Many of those who have taken part in interviews have reported that they found the opportunity to talk about the death of their child helpful, especially as some noted that some friends and relatives no longer wish talk about it. Interviews with parents, siblings, close family members, fellow students and university staff will be continuing over the coming months alongside collecting relevant data from coroners’ records.

 

The big news from the project since the last newsletter is that the research has now been extended to include universities in Scotland and Northern Ireland. We have started to make contact with relevant institutions in these countries and are hopeful that extending the study to the whole of the UK will boost the scope and profile of the project. In addition, we have been working to increase awareness of the study at national and international levels. We have presented papers at a number of conferences to diverse audiences including student union managers, university counselling services, and disability officers as well as academics and other researchers. Further presentations are planned for this summer.

 

Moving on to the next phase, we are now looking to boost our research data with interviews from PAPYRUS members. Some members have already come forward and expressed a willingness to take part. These interviews have now been initiated. Our experiences of working with parents so far has delivered positive messages around the beneficial effects of participating in the research. It has also highlighted important issues relating to the difficulties of responding to vulnerable students and responding to the aftermath of a death by suicide.

 

If your son or daughter was studying at university when they died and you feel you may be able to contribute, or if you know of anyone else who you think might be interested in talking to the research team, we would be pleased to hear from you. For this phase of the study, the bereavement does not have to be a recent event.  We are also interested to hear parents’ own suggestions about how the findings from this study might be used and disseminated.

 

 

Finally, once again we wish to thank Tony for his hard work in redesigning and updating the RaPSS website www.rapss.org.uk. We would be pleased to have comments on this. There will be another update of the progress of the research in the next issue of the newsletter. If you have any views or questions about the research itself please contact Sharon@rapss.org.uk  (01772 893407) or Jo@rapss.org.uk phone (01482 463354).

Jo Bell, RaPSS Researcher,

26.05.05.