Postmasburg youth have high suicide tendencies: survey

A high number of young people in Postmasburg in the Northern Cape have thought about committing suicide, a survey revealed on Monday.

"Even though the majority have not considered committing suicide at some point, the figure of those who thought of doing it is still unacceptably high," Tsantsabane Youth Survey research adviser Dr Moses Khanyile said.

A total number of 1 272 young people, defined as anyone between the ages of 15 and 35, were surveyed in the area.

At least 9.8% of those surveyed had considered committing suicide at some point. He said this was "unacceptably high".

"At least 12.7% of the youth have witnessed suicidal tendencies in their circle of friends. Around 12.9% indicated that they have been impacted by suicidal cases within their families, which is a cause for concern."

Depending on who in the family committed, or tried to commit suicide, there could be a rise in the number of child-headed families.

"Given that almost 10% of the youth have thought about killing themselves, it is important to provide wellness centres and emergency hotline numbers for suicidal youth. Training and deployment of social workers is also of utmost importance."