Suicide taking a heavy toll // May be more common than realized

WASHINGTON The recent wave of adolescent suicides has spurredmental health professionals to take a new look at the ancientphenomenon of self-destruction.

Out of this new look is coming an awareness that suicide is farmore common than the public generally realizes or even thanstatistics indicate, that many young children are suicidal even whenthey show no signs of depression, and that modes of suicide -especially in females - are changing dramatically.

When mistaken judgments as to cause of death plus mysteriousdeaths of doubtful cause are taken into account, actual suicides maybe twice as numerous as official statistics would suggest, says Dr.Seymour Perlin, …