The journal Semanario Universidad highlights the neglect of this population group by the state as another cause of this phenomenon.
Statistics from the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) from January 2020 to December 2022 show that the population between 18 and 29 years old, predominantly men, is most affected by these types of deaths.
In 2022, a total of 432 people died by suicide, of which 114 (26.39%) were young people, namely 95 men and 19 women.
This is a global problem. In reality, more people are dying for a variety of reasons related to something that is very important from a public health perspective: violence. Suicide, murder and traffic accidents are the causes of violent deaths among the young population,” said Mauricio Vargas, public health specialist and former director of the School of Public Health at the University of Costa Rica (UCR).
When it comes to homicides, these are the most common violent deaths in the country. In 2020, for example, there were 570 homicides nationwide, 230 of which occurred against people between the ages of 18 and 29, including 205 men and 25 women.
In 2022, this number continued to rise, so that there were 657 deaths in the country, of which 247 occurred in this young population, namely 226 men and 21 women.
Traffic accidents, in turn, contribute to these violent deaths nationwide. In 2020 (amid the pandemic and vehicle restrictions), 578 people died from this cause. Of the total number of these deaths, 160 were among people between the ages of 18 and 29, including 137 men and 23 women.
In 2022, there were 619 deaths from traffic accidents across the country. Of these, 238 were in this age group; However, there is no information broken down by gender.
In addition to these causes of death, there are suicides, which primarily affect the young population.
For example, according to the OIJ, in 2020, 381 suicides were registered in the country, while the upward trend continued in 2022, when a total of 432 people took their own lives, of which 114 were young people, specifically 95 men and 19 women.
In addition to violence, the construction of masculinity in the young population also plays an important role in these three causes of death, said Mario Zúñiga, professor at the UCR School of Anthropology.
For homicides, suicides and road traffic deaths, the age variable and the gender variable must be analyzed. These are human behaviors that are linked to a social construction of who we are, who is the person who kills, who is the person who kills himself or who is the person who is reckless on the street drives and drinks too much alcohol. Takes drugs. Zuñiga said.
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