Experts to study student suicide cause

Mumbai: India's suicide figures have risen starkly over the past decade - even worse than the west. Mumbai has seen nine student suicides in the past week.

Researchers now hope to study the depression quotient amongst the city's youth after worrying figures have come to light in 2010. The last such survey was done 10 years ago and the results then too were alarming.

Director Psychiatry Research, Jaslok Hospital, Dr Rajesh Parikh says, "What we found 10 years ago was that students in Mumbai were more depressed than those in Boston."

The study had found that 16 per cent of Mumbai students were depressed - that is 2 per cent more than the students in Boston. It also found that 8 per cent of these were suicidal.

Today, 10 years later, researchers say things could be worse.

SUICIDE CAPITAL?

Statistics show that India has the highest suicide rate in the world, marginally behind China, but ahead of the west.

95-100 people commit suicide in India every day.

And of these a whopping 40% are in the adolescent age group.

So what's pushing our students over the edge?

Associate Director Psychiatry Research, Jaslok Hospital, Dr Shamshah Sonwalla says, "They are dealing with so many things, the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, dating, peer pressure the huge academic pressure."

Over the next few months researchers will be visiting campuses across the city and interviewing students, but the recent spate has even got the city corporation worried which has planned meetings with top psychiatrist to find a solution to the worrying trend.

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