‘Act now to tackle rise in pupil suicides’
Childhood depression must be discussed, say experts
Education experts believe schools need to launch a campaign to tackle the worsening problem of depression and suicide among pupils.
Speaking in the wake of a recent suicide at a Port Elizabeth school, educational psychologist Prof Susan van Rensburg said teenager suicides should be openly discussed.
“It’s a very delicate subject but, just like school programmes about the dangers of smoking dagga and the issue of HIV – this is a vital subject that needs to be brought into the open.”
The headmaster of the school at which the grade 10 pupil committed suicide said: “We are left, as a community, with more questions than answers.”
Van Rensburg said schools should establish depression support groups to allow pupils to communicate anonymously if they were feeling depressed or suicidal.
Pupils might hesitate or struggle to verbalise their situation but a support group could provide them with a neutral resource for doing so, she said.
“It could be structured in such a way that the teacher monitoring these messages would be able to identify and contact individual pupils if red flags were being raised,” Van Rensburg said.
“The support group would also allow for contributions from fellow pupils.
“[They could] come forward if they noticed something of concern about a pupil.
“The school could give the support group a catchy name and put up posters to advertise it. The pupils would respond positively, I feel.”
The department of education needed to launch an investigation into the causes of depression and suicide in South African schools, she said.
“But in the meantime a bottom-up campaign at schools would be of great value.”
Van Rensburg said teenage depression had increased and one of the reasons was the effect of social media and cellphones.
“Teens are comparing themselves to images out there that they never had access to before, putting added pressure on themselves.
“The cellphone has become their virtual mate.”
Education psychologist Riette de Lauwere said teenagers typically felt emotions intensely.
Confronted by stresses such as family financial problems, demanding school work and peer pressure they could be overwhelmed by life.She echoed Van Rensburg’s concern about social media, which she said provided an artificial platform that often eclipsed meaningful relationships.“Teenagers were often labelled as difficult and moody but this generalisation sometimes masked depression.“Parents working long hours might not be able to see behind this mask.“Support systems need to be established in the family home, and in schools and churches, and parents and guardians need to work to foster strong emotional bonds with children through their different phases of development.”She said guardians needed to have regular conversations with the child to check where he or she was emotionally.Changes in the mood or behaviour of a child must also be investigated.If they could not have these conversations, they should get assistance from a professional counsellor.“If there is a concern, don’t dismiss it. Parents, guardians and teachers need to have an open-door policy.“Always make it clear that there is no problem too big to solve,” De Lauwere said.According to an SA Depression and Anxiety Group report, 9% of South African teen deaths are due to suicide and this figure is increasing.“In the 15-24 age group, suicide is the second leading – and fastest growing – cause of death.“Children as young as seven have committed suicide in SA. Every day 22 people take their own life,” she said.Some psychologists believe that some people have a genetic predisposition to depression and others develop it because of environmental factors.Loneliness and social isolation, bullying, abuse, loss and conflict could all result in depression and sometimes suicide, the report said.
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