Methods of Youth Suicide in New Zealand: Trends and Implications for Prevention

This paper summarises recent trends in methods of suicide among young people in New Zealand & examines the feasibility of suicide prevention through restricting access to methods of suicide. During the last 2 decades, male youth suicide rates in New Zealand doubled. This increase was acounted for, almost entirely, by increased use of hanging & vehicle exhaust gas. Suicide rates among young females also increased largely accounted for by increased rates in hanging & vehicle exhaust gas. Both methods are widely available & difficult to restrict implying that limiting access to means of suicide is a strategy unlikely to play a major role in reducing suicidal behavour among New Zealand youth. (46 refs.)