On April 4, a fifth-year male student at the Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) hanged himself in a classroom. The school confirmed that before the incident occurred, the student showed signs of depression. 

One day later, on April 5, a sixth grade girl in Ha Tinh left a suicide letter and threw herself into the river to commit suicide as she believed that the mother did not love her as much as her brother.

In 2022, a 10th grader at Nguyen Huu Tho High School in district 4, HCM City, committed suicide by jumping from the third floor. His friends said there had been signs of depression as he had shared some "strange things" with friends.

In 2022, a survey on teen suicide was conducted by Giang Thien Vu, a postgraduate at the HCM City University of Education, and co-workers from April 2021 to April 2022. 

Vu told VietNamNet that the researchers screened the data of 400 adolescents aged 12-16 and found a clear difference in the number of children with no risk of committing suicide and children with a high risk.

The survey showed that adolescents' suicidal thoughts and expressions varied. Students at level 1 (general average score 1.49) have "no expression" of a suicidal idea.

This result showed that adolescents in HCM City had the lowest level of symptoms related to suicidal ideas on the scale.

However, the average score provided information showing an alarming situation about the mental health of adolescents, which needs attention from relevant parties.

For the statement "You intentionally hurt yourself, or want to commit suicide", 41 children had score 5 (10 percent). As for ‘You think carefully and draw up a plan for your death’, 34 children scored 5 (9 percent). 

Meanwhile, for ‘You often get scratches, accidents and risks’, 9 percent of children had a score of 5 (35 children).

Eight out of 400 adolescents in HCMC had an average score of intention of committing suicide at a high level (level 4). Of these, three had excellent academic performance, and the other five good academic performance.

The sharp differences on the risk of committing suicide has prompted the experts to continue their research.

Ngan Anh - Le Huyen