Families of those who attempt suicide also at risk: study

SEOUL, April 6 (Yonhap) -- People who have a family member with a history of attempting suicide may be more vulnerable to committing suicide themselves, a study said Wednesday, adding that therapy for suicide prevention should be offered to the entire family.

According to the latest study conducted by medical experts at Yonsei University, people who have had a family member attempt suicide were two times more likely to consider suicide.

The study was conducted on 38,887 participants from 2007 to 2012, divided into two groups depending on whether they had a family member who attempted suicide.

Among the bracket that experienced the tragedy, 26.3 percent said they had considered killing themselves, hovering far above 14.1 percent posted by their counterparts who had no related incidents.

"The findings indicate that not only those who have attempted suicide, but also their families are classified as strongly vulnerable," the team said. "While society currently focuses on psychological treatment for those who have attempted suicide, we need to expand the efforts to their families as well to effectively prevent suicide."

South Korea posted the world's highest suicide rate among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development members for the 12th consecutive year in 2015. Last year, 27.3 South Koreans died by suicide for every 100,000 people.

colin@yna.co.kr
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