Indigenous child suicides shock

A STUDY into suicide rates among Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children has revealed they are 10 times more at risk compared with other children living in the state.

The report, to be released today, found the suicide rate among indigenous children aged 5–14 years was 4.61 per 100,000 population, compared to 0.48 per 100,000 in other Australian children of the same age bracket for the period 1994 to 2007.

The authors found that compared with other Australian children, indigenous children were found to consume alcohol more frequently before suicide and receive less current and past treatment of psychiatric disorders.

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– APN NEWSDESK