Plan to cut student suicides as study finds one in five is depressed

NEW guidelines on reducing the risk of suicide among students have been issued to universities across Scotland, the day after an undergraduate jumped from the window of his halls of residence.

A report on how to prevent young students from taking their own lives has been drawn up by the professional body of university principals and vice-chancellors.

Universities UK hopes the move will raise awareness of the problem and might prevent further tragedies on Scotland’s campuses.

One in five first-year students at Edinburgh University suffers from depression, according to a recent study of 400 undergraduates.

A 22-year-old student committed suicide on Tuesday by jumping from the sixth-floor of his university hall of residence. The Chinese man, who was studying a law course at Edinburgh University, plunged 70 feet to his death at Churchill House, in Richmond Place.

A spokesman for Edinburgh University said the student would not be named until his family in China had been informed. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the man’s death.

One female student said: "He had never shown any signs of stress or anxiety. He didn’t even have exams coming up, so it is really difficult to understand.

"He didn’t have any family here but he was quite popular and was always friendly."

Earlier this year, James Lewis, 22, a fourth-year chemistry student and a member of the Catholic Students Union at Edinburgh University who shared a New Town flat with a member of Liechtenstein’s royal family, hanged himself after believing he had failed his exams for a second time.

In October 2000, the university launched a campaign to cut suicides after six students at universities and colleges across the city killed themselves in as many months.

Yesterday’s guidelines also outline the responsibilities of higher education institutions to act quickly, sensitively and effectively to a crisis or death.

Diana Warwick, Chief Executive of Universities UK, said: "Student welfare, which includes reducing the risk of student suicide, is vitally important to all the UK's universities and colleges.

"I hope this document will help to raise awareness of the issues, build on existing good practice and help the sector to take appropriate steps to reduce the risks."

A recent study of 400 first-year undergraduates found that moving away from home, meeting new people and the pressure to perform well in exams were all causes of psychological problems affecting one in five students.

The survey was carried out to discover whether medical students were more likely to suffer than people taking other courses.

It followed previous studies that found comparatively high rates of depression among trainee doctors in British universities.