A suicide prevention project has uncovered serious mental health concerns among secondary school students, with findings of high levels of depression, coupled with drug and alcohol abuse, proving particularly worrying.
The project, carried out by Marianne Gurnee and Ger Rynne of the Cork Counselling Centre, found that one in three of 15- to 16- year-olds was binge drinking, taking five or more alcoholic drinks in a row, thus increasing the risk of taking their own lives.
The report said 17.2 per cent of the young people surveyed said they felt lonely while just over 11 per cent said they had purposely injured themselves.
About the same number reported feeling so sad they "can hardly stand it", while just under 10 per cent of respondents said they felt "they might as well give up" because they could not make things better for themselves.
Ms Gurnee said the combined findings made for worrying reading. "Particularly concerning are findings relating to a high level of depression, coupled with drug and alcohol abuse," she said.
"Depression, accompanied by feelings of hopelessness, is a strong predictor of suicide."
The study was carried out among 230 students in 12 transition year classes in seven randomly selected schools in Cork city and county, with both boys and girls participating in workshops and responding to a questionnaire.
Ms Gurnee said the growing rate of suicide among adolescents, especially young males, in Ireland was unprecedented elsewhere. She identified the abuse of alcohol, as evidenced by the high levels of binge drinking found in the report, as a critical factor.
"We hypothesise that male suicide in rural Ireland is linked to strong isolation, an inability or unwillingness to seek help and numbing of consciousness through excessive alcohol," she said. "The role of alcohol cannot be overstated. Alcohol is both a depressant and has a disinhibitive effect, at times leading to suicidal acts."
The project also involved researchers meeting students in workshops and helping them to recognise risk factors and warning signs associated with suicide.
Participants also learned that suicidal individuals were usually incapable of getting help for themselves due to clouded thinking and often required help, she said. Students also learned how breaking a friend's trust in matters of life and death may be necessary.
The report recommends the development of programmes where schools, students and parents alike learn about mental health concerns and suicide. It says partnership between families, schools and mental health organisations is essential to effect change in a community.
The Cork Counselling Centre is at 7 Fr Matthew Street, Cork, and can be contacted at 021-427 4951 or 021-427 3995.