SHANGHAI. CHINA - Universities will offer more help to young people suffering from depression after a report showed suicide has now become the No. 1 cause of death among students.

A study by Shanghai Education Commission released on Tuesday found 23 college students attempted to take their own lives last year, while 19 succeeded.

It put suicide ahead of acute diseases, traffic accidents and fires in the list of main causes of death.

More than half of those who attempted or died in acts of suicide had been suffering from depression caused by pressure related to studies, employment or a relationship.

"By releasing such a ranking, we aim to alert the public and raise everyone's awareness about mental health among youths," said Mo Fuchun, deputy director of the commission.

To help ease the psychological burden, colleges will now add mental health courses to the curriculum, either on a compulsory or selective basis, while the commission said it aimed to have a certified counselor for every 3,000 students on every campus by 2012.

There are already 241 counselors being trained to add to the 80 already at work, said the commission.

It is the first official ranking released for the city and has been hailed by education experts.

"Nowadays, young people tend to be fragile in the face of frustrations, such as poor exam results because they have grown up under highly indulgent parents," said Zhang Haiyan, a professor at the East China University of Politics and Law. "Also, their parents usually put high expectations on them, the single child in the family making things more unbearable."

However, Sun Shijin, a psychology professor at Fudan University, added yesterday: "Even with the substantial number of deaths, the percentage of college students committing suicide is relatively low compared with the level in Western countries."

He added that the problem might be mitigated through better awareness of the causes of suicide.

China Daily/Asia News Network

Feeling troubled or depressed? Here are the numbers you can call:
Samaritans of Singapore (SOS): 1800-221-4444
Family Service Centre: 1800-838-0100
Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
Care Corner Mandarin Counselling Centre: 1800-353-5800
Touchline (Touch Youth Service): 1800-377-2252