Juarez City.- In 2022, one in ten boys, girls and adolescents (NNA) between the ages of 10 and 19 in Ciudad Juárez attempted suicide, according to a survey carried out with more than 2,000 students from various educational centers, reported Oscar Abraham Balcázar Ortiz, consultant and project manager for the US-Mexico Border Health Commission, in the ROTMENAS program.
The survey was carried out from August to October, in which some mental health disorders such as suicidal ideation in children and adolescents were evaluated.
According to Balcázar Ortiz, the survey also showed that around 15.5 percent of this age group attempted suicide throughout their lives, and 9.1 percent in the last year.
In this same group of children and adolescents, it was identified that up to 27.9 have thought about committing suicide throughout their lives, that is, almost one in three, and in the last year one in six, that is, 16.6 percent. of them had suicidal thoughts, explained Balcázar Ortiz.
The consultant and project manager added that this problem does not occur in children between 5 and 9 years of age.
The figures were provided by Balcázar Ortiz, according to the NNA Mental Health Indicators in Ciudad Juárez of the 2022 edition, which was the result of surveys carried out in more than 18 elementary, middle and high schools.
For Balcázar Ortiz, the idea of ending one’s life arises as an option in the face of problems, that is, when several options are presented in life and ending it is one of them; In addition to thinking about that suicidal ideation, the thought is gaining strength when the other options seem to run out.
“According to the World Health Organization (WHO), for every completed suicide there are at least 20 suicide attempts, and we can realize that a person who committed suicide has attempted it on average 2.6 times in their life. What does this mean? That the main predictor for the person to end his life is that he has already tried it before, ”said Balcázar Ortiz.
He added that the pandemic brought mourning related to death, mourning for losing a lifestyle, difficulties in socializing, and also trauma, since in suicide one of the main related causes is post-traumatic stress.
In Juárez, on March 24, the case of a child under 10 years of age was reported by his mother to the 911 emergency line due to suicidal thoughts, and who was persuaded by agents of the Municipal Public Security Secretariat (SSPM), in the Rancho Anapra neighborhood, to receive specialized medical attention, because according to the official report, the child had symptoms of depression. The child’s mother indicated that it was not the first time that her son presented this type of crisis.
In figures
15.5% attempted suicide throughout his life
9.1% tried in the last year
27.9% Have you thought about committing suicide in your life?
16.6% had suicidal ideas in the past year
