We examined the prevalence of self-reported suicide attempts and the relationship vetween suicide attempts and background characteristics, social integration, stress at school, psychological distress, and suicidal thoughts in a nationally representative sample of Korean adolescents. As part of the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs` Adolescent Health Suvey data were collected from 5,209 eighth graders and 4,677 eleventh graders from 70 junior high and senior high schools in Korea.
With the succesful national family planning program and rapid socio-economic advancement since 1962, the contraceptive prevalence rate has risen from 9 percent in 1964 to 79 persent in 1991, with the corresponding total fertility rate(TFR) going from 6.0 in 1960 to 1.6 in 1988 which is considerably below the replacement fertility rate. The main purpose of this study is therefore, to identify the structural and causal factors that contributed to the fall in fertility over the last three decades, in an effort to formulate future population policy directions and strategies.