Suicidal tendencies in teenagers increased more than 120 per cent in the last one decade: Study

MUMBAI: A pan-India medical study by the Raksha Hospital Research Centre (RHRC), affiliated to the Raksha Multispeciality Hospital in suburban Mumbai, has found that suicidal tendencies in teenagers and youngsters in the age groups of 17 years to 24 years has increased by more than 120 per cent in the last one decade, in what the study terms as the ‘mobile phone age’ or ‘iphone age’.

“Youngsters between 17 to 24 years, are under tremendous peer pressure – something that was unknown about two to three decades earlier. Depression too has increased manifold in youth and more and more youth are being diagnosed with chronic or recurring depression,” said Dr Pranav Kabra of the RHRC, which coordinated the entire project.

The RHRC studied more than 400 cases of suicide in youngsters over the last three years across the country, in small towns, villages and cities alike and compared it to available data over the last three decades.

According to the findings of the survey, the cases of suicide in youngsters more than doubled as compared to the last two decades due to peer pressure, increase in cases of chronic and recurring depression among youth, increased drug usage and other social ills and lifestyle diseases like obesity.