Year: 1999 Source: Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, v.44, no.1, (February 1999), p.82-85 SIEC No: 19990063

This study examined whether Alberta youth who had completed suicide were more likely to be younger than their classmates on entering Grade 1. Records were obtained for all suicides under the age of 20 during the years 1979-1992. A disproportionate number of the subjects were born in the second half of the school eligibility year, indicating a higher probability that those who completed suicide were younger than their classmates. The study demonstrates a relative age effect in youth suicide.