Children’s Risk of Suicide Increases on School Days

It can be difficult to read about death and suicide. It's time to read this in a moment where you're ready to do so.

Many people who care for children don't know that we are busy during the school year. When a child comes in for a mental health crisis, one of the main stressors they talk about is school.

One of my most common prescriptions is to reduce school burden and load. A survey done by the American Psychological Association found that 83 percent of adolescents said school was a cause of stress. A survey of school leaders in the U.K. found that mental health issues among primary school children increased during the time of national exams. Scientists studied homework in the U.S. and found that primary school children averaged 30 minutes of homework per night, while high-performing secondary students averaged more than three hours per night.

Whether we're talking about referrals to mental health programs for crisis, presentations to emergency departments for mental health issues, admissions to intensive care units for urgent treatment of suicide attempts or deaths by suicide, an association with school is obvious. We can see this in many different ways.

By using the Wonder database of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, I was able to create a "heat map" of youth suicides. There is an increase in suicides in children during school months.

The increase in suicides by children in school months is between 30 and 43 percent. Adult suicide rates tend to peak in summer months.

Compared with summer weekends, school-month weekdays show a 62 percent increase in the rate of suicides by children. From 1999 to 2015, the increase increased 42%.

Emergency room visits for mental health conditions are very similar to other events. The data was collected by the CDC.

There are many positives and negatives to school. A sense of connection to others is one of the things that can make school great. It can be incredibly difficult because of the academic burden, health and disability related barriers, discrimination, lack of sleep, and sometimes abuse. I like the idea of a child going to school full time. The child has co-workers and overtime. Most schools have hours that are not compatible with children's sleep patterns. Work can be rewarding, but it can also be a lot of stress.

They are shocked when I give these data to them. This should be something that everyone knows. When school is not in, the rates of suicides and mental health crises go up. The pattern is also found in other countries.

I wish those in charge of our children's education would look at a number of ways to alleviate this distress. I had some suggestions.

• Get rid of it. Studies show that excessive homework harms children's health and well-being.

• Adding a mental health curriculum is a good idea. Our educational goals include math, reading, science and the arts. There should be a way to learn how to take care of yourself, how to look out for others, and how to improve the detection and prevention of mental health crises.

• Don't just focus on the people who bully. The universally bullied and bully come from the same background. The bully is more likely to be external than internal. Bullies who have been bullied are more likely to have mental health issues in the future.

• Music and art funding should be restored in school. Children need a lot of things. Children who have opportunities to play and rest will be able to sustain their development as they get older.

• Awards and goals should be ended. There is no better idea for the rest of one's life than perfect attendance. When we are at our limit we should take a break. When children can report, they should be supported.

• School should start later. Children need more sleep and adolescents do better in school when the day starts later, but how many more decades of research do we need? Changes need to be made to the wake up times.

• Children's identity and identity formation should be respected and not judged. This isn't a joke. It is a concept that works for all children.

• Child abuse can be recognized and addressed in schools. Many readers will recall that there are teachers who are cruel. In one study, 44 percent of undergrads recalled a time when they were emotional abused by a teacher. 3.4 percent of seventh- and eighth- grade students said they were bullied by their teachers.

Every year our mental health crisis presentation volumes double and our days become much more busy, as our colleagues in the emergency department prepare for the coming mid-September wave. School starts in my area in the second week of September.

If you work with school-age children, in the new school year, ask yourself what you could be doing to improve the quality of life for the children in your care. This would prevent suicides.

IF YOU NEED HELP

If you or someone you know is struggling or having thoughts of suicide, help is available. Call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, use the online Lifeline Chat or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741. LGBTQ+ Americans can reach out to the Trevor Project by texting START to 678-678 or calling 1-866-488-7386.

The views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those ofScientific American.