High suicide rate haunts Chinese elderly
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But thanks to a significant decline in rural women's suicide rates during the last 20 years, China's national suicide rate declined from 17.65/100,000 in 1987 to 6.6/100,000 in 2008, well below that year's global rate of 14.5/100,000, according to Jing's research.
The drop in the suicide rate of rural women could be attributed to the mass migration to urban areas, which pulled many rural women out of their subordinate role in their families, said Jing.
In the single year of 2009, a total of 44 million women are estimated to have moved to China's coastal urban areas as migrant workers.
But this year, young migrant workers have also attracted intense media coverage and public debate over their fragile mental state, after serial suicides, all by young migrants born after 1985, took place at the Foxconn factories in south China's boomtown of Shenzhen.
"It still lacks evidence to say that these young migrant workers are more likely to commit suicide, although they come from a generation (late 80s) labeled as more dependent, fragile, and unrealistic," said Yu Xin, professor from Peking University Sixth Hospital, who has conducted a survey among Foxconn workers.
But other experts admit that as China transforms its huge agricultural population into urban residents, both young migrants and the country should be mentally prepared.
"Compared with accidents and natural disasters, China is less experienced in dealing with social crises like mass suicides," said Wang Lei, professor from the Department of Psychology in Peking University.
"So far, China is still in want of a policy on suicide prevention," said Jing.
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