10-Year-Old Girl's Death Ruled Suicide
Health Officials Say Teen, Preteen Suicides Rare In Hawaii
POSTED: 4:23 pm HST November 10,
2009
UPDATED: 5:05 pm HST November 10,
2009
Email
Print
Comments
HONOLULU -- The Honolulu medical examiner has ruled that a 10-year-old girl who fell to her death from her Makiki apartment committed suicide.In Hawaii, such young suicides are rare. However, nationally there is a disturbing increase in teen and preteen suicides.Suicide Prevention Resources:
Hawaii Mental Health Crisis
CDC Web Site
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255)Police and fire crews were called to the Crown Thurston apartment building in Makiki on Monday morning after a 10-year-old girl had fallen from an exterior stairwell. She was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.At the girl's elementary school on Tuesday, crisis teams went from room to room to counsel students. At least one parent was called to take her child home, a classmate who was too upset.There have been nine preteen suicides in Hawaii in the past 18 years, health officials said."It's very rare that age group constitutes less than 1 percent of all the fatalities we see through suicide. There have been anywhere from none to two at most in a given year in that age group," epidemiologist Dan Galanis said.Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report a disturbing increase in suicides among preteen and young girls. In 10- to 14-year-old girls, suicide spiked 76 percent in 2004. Experts are not sure why.They said the warning signs include family dysfunction, relationship problems, mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse. Medical records often show a traumatic event."In those records they sometimes document what negative life event might be, and for this age group the most common one was intra-familial problems or some type of interfamily discord or boyfriend/girlfriend problems next and then problems at school. So, those are the sort of things you would expect in the life of a preteen," Galanis said.That spike in 2004 nationally went back down. The Hawaii Department of Health is sponsoring suicide prevention conference at Queen's Medical Center on Nov. 19 and 20. It is called a major public health challenge.
Hawaii Mental Health Crisis
CDC Web Site
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255)Police and fire crews were called to the Crown Thurston apartment building in Makiki on Monday morning after a 10-year-old girl had fallen from an exterior stairwell. She was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.At the girl's elementary school on Tuesday, crisis teams went from room to room to counsel students. At least one parent was called to take her child home, a classmate who was too upset.There have been nine preteen suicides in Hawaii in the past 18 years, health officials said."It's very rare that age group constitutes less than 1 percent of all the fatalities we see through suicide. There have been anywhere from none to two at most in a given year in that age group," epidemiologist Dan Galanis said.Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report a disturbing increase in suicides among preteen and young girls. In 10- to 14-year-old girls, suicide spiked 76 percent in 2004. Experts are not sure why.They said the warning signs include family dysfunction, relationship problems, mental illness and drug and alcohol abuse. Medical records often show a traumatic event."In those records they sometimes document what negative life event might be, and for this age group the most common one was intra-familial problems or some type of interfamily discord or boyfriend/girlfriend problems next and then problems at school. So, those are the sort of things you would expect in the life of a preteen," Galanis said.That spike in 2004 nationally went back down. The Hawaii Department of Health is sponsoring suicide prevention conference at Queen's Medical Center on Nov. 19 and 20. It is called a major public health challenge.
Copyright 2009 by KITV.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
