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Many young people who die by suicide may themselves have been bereaved

The report wants better bereavement support for young people Credit: Stina Stjernkvist/TT/TT News Agency/Press Association Images

Young people who die by suicide have often suffered a bereavement themselves according to a new report.

The investigation by Manchester University shows that 25 percent of under 20's who took their own life had previously lost someone.

And for more than 1 in 10 that was also due to suicide.

The report is by The University of Manchester's National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness (NCISH).

The NCISH report, examines the findings from a range of investigations such as coroner inquests, into the deaths by suicide of people aged under 25 using information about the stresses they were facing when they died.

The researchers found 25% of under-20s and 28% of 20-24 year olds - around 125 deaths per year - had experienced bereavement. In 11% of all the under 20s examined, this death was also a suicide, usually of a family member or friend. The report emphasises the emotional impact of bereavement on young people and recommends that bereavement support should be widely available.

Suicide is the leading cause of death in young people in England and Wales. Although there is no single cause, bereavement was an important theme in many of the deaths we examined. Some of the young people had experienced the suicide of someone close to them - it's tragic that the trauma of suicide may lead young people to take their own lives.

....We found a number of common themes in the lives of the young people who died, including exam pressures and bullying in the under 20s, and workplace, finance and housing problems in the 20-24 year olds.

– Professor Louis Appleby, Director of NCISH