title: Epidemiology of suicide among children and adolescents in Austria, 2001-2014.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous epidemiological analyses indicated a decreasing trend of suicide rates for 10-19-year-olds in Austria for the period 1970-2001. However, data from the new millennium are missing. This epidemiological update reports on youth suicide in Austria, covering the period 2001-2014 in order to inform suicide preventive interventions targeting adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data on registered suicides among Austrian minors (10-19 years) and the population size were obtained from Statistics Austria. Chi-squared tests were used to analyze the associations between the suicide methods used and sex, as well as between suicide methods and Austrian federal states. Spearman correlations were calculated to assess time trends in the suicide rates. One-way ANOVA was used to investigate annual suicide rates of age groups 10-14, 15-19, and 10-19 years across the nine Austrian federal states.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total average suicide rate for Austrian minors was 4.57 per 100,000. The male-female ratio was 3.5:1. The total youth suicide rate and male suicide rate significantly declined from 2001 to 2014, whereas there were no significant changes in female rates. More than one third of suicides among Austrian youth occurred through hanging, whereas jumping in front of a moving object was the second-most common suicide method. A spring peak was found, with most suicides occurring in April and May.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Suicide rates among minors in Austria continue to decrease. The present findings help to inform the ongoing implementation of the National Austrian Suicide Prevention Plan (SUPRA).
authors.affiliation: Suicide Research Unit, Institute of Social Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090, Vienna, Austria.|Wiener Werkstaette for Suicide Research, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Zrinka
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Laido
authors.affiliation: Wiener Werkstaette for Suicide Research, Vienna, Austria.|Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, School of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Voracek
authors.affiliation: Suicide Research Unit, Institute of Social Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090, Vienna, Austria.|Wiener Werkstaette for Suicide Research, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Benedikt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Till
authors.affiliation: Wiener Werkstaette for Suicide Research, Vienna, Austria.|Department of Applied Psychology: Health, Development, Enhancement, and Intervention, School of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Jakob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pietschnig
authors.affiliation: Wiener Werkstaette for Suicide Research, Vienna, Austria.|Department of Child and Adolescent Medicine (day unit, pediatric psychosomatics), Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Eisenwort
authors.affiliation: Wiener Werkstaette for Suicide Research, Vienna, Austria.|Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria.
authors.forename: Kanita
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dervic
authors.affiliation: Wiener Werkstaette for Suicide Research, Vienna, Austria.|Crisis Intervention Center Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Gernot
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sonneck
authors.affiliation: Suicide Research Unit, Institute of Social Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, 1090, Vienna, Austria. thomas.niederkrotenthaler@meduniwien.ac.at.|Wiener Werkstaette for Suicide Research, Vienna, Austria. thomas.niederkrotenthaler@meduniwien.ac.at.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Niederkrotenthaler
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000067697:Adolescent Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017677:Age Distribution; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D002423:Cause of Death / Q000639:trends*; D002648:Child; D000067576:Child Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Austria; Children and adolescents; Epidemiology; Prevention; Suicide