"Massive increase" in hospitalizations of adolescent girls and young women in France, particularly for suicide attempts and self-mutilation

While mental health has been designated a major national cause for 2025, hospitalizations of adolescent girls and young women for suicide attempts or self-harm increased massively over the past year in France, particularly among 10- to 14-year-olds, according to figures published Wednesday, June 18.

Nearly 82,000 people aged 10 or over were hospitalized at least once for a self-inflicted act last year, a 6% increase compared to 2023, and nearly two-thirds of them (64%) were women, according to the statistical service of the social ministries (Drees).

This covers the number of suicide attempts and non-suicidal self-mutilations (scarifications, burns, hitting a wall, etc.), but does not include visits to the emergency room without hospitalization, nor hospitalizations in psychiatry, follow-up care or at home.

Although the number of hospitalized patients varied little between 2013 and 2019, before falling sharply in 2020, it has "been increasing continuously since then," reports the Drees, which relies on figures from the national health data system (SNDS). France is experiencing "massive" increases in hospitalizations of adolescent girls and young women for attempted suicide or self-harm, it notes. Among "very young girls, aged 10 to 14," they jumped by 22% between 2023 and 2024; among 15-19 year-olds, by 14%.

The number of older patients also increased: by 4% for 20-24 year-olds and by 9% for 25-29 year-olds, the "two age groups with the most people hospitalized." After increasing sharply between 2020 and 2021, the number of hospitalizations of patients under 20 years old fell in 2022 and 2023, before rising again in 2024. Conversely, the number of hospitalizations of women aged 40 to 60 has fallen steadily since 2012.

Among men, the majority of those who die by suicide, hospitalizations for attempted suicide increased by 17% among 15-19 year-olds, by 8% among 20-24 year-olds and by 7% among 25-29 year-olds compared to 2023, and by 9% among 40-44 year-olds.

"The sudden deterioration in the mental health of a significant minority of adolescent girls and women under 30 is an international phenomenon that appeared in the 2010s, which the 2020 health crisis appears to have accentuated," reports Drees.

"Although it is difficult to determine the causes of this deterioration, one hypothesis seems to stand out, pointing to the misuse of social networks and the specific attacks that can occur against this population," she notes. The Minister for Health and Access to Care, Yannick Neuder, announced a plan for mental health and psychiatry on June 11, which largely disappointed health professionals.