Suicides 'lower during Troubles'

More people are prone to suicide now than during the Troubles, a new study says

The number of suicides in Northern Ireland has risen since the end of the Troubles, according to new research.

The study was carried out by the University of Ulster and the Department of Psychiatry at the Mater Hospital.

It found that during the worst years of violence, suicides fell significantly but have now risen in a period of relative peace.

The researchers believe civil unrest may have strengthened social bonds within communities.

This may have "buffered" individuals from thoughts of taking their own lives, they said.

"Where you have areas of conflict the rate of suicide tends to drop during that period," report author Iain McGowan, nursing lecturer at the University of Ulster, said.

"When people come together to confront a general threat they tend to think less about themselves as individuals and more of the common cause, so suicidal thoughts may be pushed to the back of their minds."

Rates

Mr McGowan examined the trends in suicide rates and terrorist related deaths in Northern Ireland from 1966 to 1999.

In the 34-year period more than 7,000 people died - almost evenly divided between those who took their own lives and those who were murdered in terrorist-related incidents.

He found a direct relationship between the two - when terrorism increased, suicide fell and vice versa.

The lowest year for suicide deaths was 1972 when 47 people took their own lives. This coincided with the highest murder toll when 497 people were killed.

Last week, Health Minister Shaun Woodward organised a major conference on suicide prevention in Belfast.

There were at least 15 suicides in west Belfast in a three-month period this year with seven deaths occurring in one week in April.

North Belfast also has an above average suicide rate, with 13 young men taking their own lives in the Ardoyne area within a two-month period at the start of last year.