A total of 2.8 per cent of Hong Kong students considered suicide in the 2022-23 school year, an assessment conducted by the Department of Health has found, also noting an increase in referrals for psychosocial and behavioural problems.
A total of 233,000 primary students and 97,000 secondary students were assessed by Student Health Service Centres (SHSC) in the 2022-23 school year, the health department said in a statement on Wednesday.
The annual assessment found that 2.8 per cent of students surveyed had planned to take their own lives, while 1.3 per cent had attempted suicide, the department announced.
The percentage among secondary students was higher, with 3.7 per cent saying they had planned to kill themselves and 1.6 saying they had attempted to to do so.
Mental health referrals
The assessment also revealed that 1.8 per cent of students had required referral to the department’s Special Assessment Centres (SAC), specialist clinics, or other organisations “for psychosocial and behavioural problems.”
In the 2018-19 school year, that figure stood at 1.1 per cent.
“Healthcare professionals including doctors, nurses and clinical psychologists in the SHSCs and SACs have paid additional attention to students’ emotions and mental health needs, and provided individual health counselling and advice to them,” the department said.
Schools in the city have reported a rise in suspected suicides this school year.
Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong, an NGO specialising in suicide prevention, has attributed the upsurge in part to excessive academic pressure placed on students by schools and parents trying to make up for time lost to the pandemic.
Under Secretary for Health Libby Lee told lawmakers in mid-November that the situation was cause for “serious alarm.”
Thirty-seven students took their own lives between the beginning of 2023 and early November, according to figures released by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention last month.
An earlier survey by the Chinese University of Hong Kong found that 3.9 per cent of 6,082 children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 had thought of suicide over the past year. Another 1.9 per cent planned suicide and 1.1 per cent attempted to kill themselves.
For secondary students, 8.4 per cent experienced suicidal ideation, while another 3.8 per cent planned and 2.3 per cent attempted to take their own lives.
Vision and weight
The department also said on Wednesday that students’ vision had deteriorated in recent years, “especially among lower grade primary students.”
The percentage of Primary One students who wore glasses had remained at 11 per cent between 2015-16 and 2019-20, but increased to 15 percent in 2020-21, remaining level in 2022-23.
Furthermore, the prevalence of students classified as overweight had increased over the course of the pandemic.
For the 2018-19 school year, 17.4 per cent of primary students and 19.9 per cent of secondary students were overweight. That increased to 20.6 per cent and 22.1 per cent in 2021-22, before falling slightly to 19.5 per cent and 20.5 per cent in 2022-23.
“[D]uring the Covid-19 epidemic, class suspension, online classes, decreased outdoor physical activity, together with increased screen time, all imposed higher risks of overweight/obesity and deteriorated vision,” the department said.
| 💡If you are in need of support, please call: The Samaritans 2896 0000 (24-hour, multilingual), Suicide Prevention Centre 2382 0000 or the government mental health hotline on 18111. The Hong Kong Society of Counselling and Psychology provides a WhatsApp hotline in English and Chinese: 6218 1084. See also: HKFP’s comprehensive guide to mental health services in Hong Kong. |
Support HKFP | Policies & Ethics | Error/typo? | Contact Us | Newsletter | Transparency & Annual Report | Apps
Help safeguard press freedom & keep HKFP free for all readers by supporting our team
LATEST FROM HKFP
HKFP has an impartial stance, transparent funding, and balanced coverage guided by an Ethics Code and Corrections Policy.
Support press freedom & help us surpass 1,000 monthly Patrons: 100% independent, governed by an ethics code & not-for-profit.
