Youth suicide constitutes a considerable public health problem in many European countries. Suicide mortality in adolescents and young adults has increased during the 1980s and 1990s in several European countries and predominantly in young males. This paper summarises the international discussion on potential reasons for these trends, including changes in ascertainment practices, in the prevalence of psychopathology (mainly depression and substance abuse), in psychosocial and socio-economic conditions and in the methods chosen for suicidal behaviour. Potential reasons for the gender differences in trends are scrutinised.
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