KOTA KINABALU - Adolescent suicides are mostly impulsive and minimally planned, the Coroner's Court heard today during the inquest into 13-year-old student Zara Qairina Mahathir's death.
Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Chua Sze Hung, 43, from Hospital Mesra Bukit Padang, said adolescents who experience psychological and physical isolation may resort to emotion-focused coping strategies, including rumination, when faced with acute stressors.
"She could and she could not. It has to be understood within her context and psychological state at that point in time.
"It was very likely that she was in a state of cognitive restriction where she was unable to appreciate other alternatives. To end her life was the only way," he said before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan today.
He was responding to questions from counsel Joan Goh, representing one of the students accused of bullying Zara Qairina.
Dr Chua, the 67th witness in the proceedings, said the situation is compounded by the fact that the adolescent prefrontal cortex remains neurobiologically underdeveloped.
He explained that the prefrontal cortex governs functions such as impulse control, inhibition and decision-making, all of which may be further impaired by lack of sleep, acute stress and other contributing factors.
When asked by Goh whether a person with a close relationship with their mother would normally contact her to say goodbye before taking such action, the expert said adolescent suicide differs from adult suicide.
He noted that adult suicides are often linked to mental illness and substance abuse, whereas adolescent suicides are commonly associated with environmental stressors and interpersonal conflicts.
"Suicide among adolescents can be impulsive in nature, making acts such as calling others to say goodbye, giving away belongings and writing suicide notes less common," he said.
Meanwhile, responding to counsel Abdul Fikry Jaafar Abdullah, counsel for another accused student, Dr Chua disagreed that Zara Qairina could have taken her own life due to another trigger or destabilising factor, even in the absence of the dormitory confrontation.
He said he did not identify any other trigger or destabilising factor on that night or morning of the incident apart from the issues that occurred at the dormitory.
However, he agreed that a family’s difficulty in accepting the possibility of suicide does not, by itself, disprove forensic or psychological findings consistent with suicide.
Earlier, when questioned by counsel Datuk Rizwandean M Borhan, who represents Zara Qairina's mother, Dr Chua acknowledged that this was his first time preparing a psychological autopsy report.
Zara Qairina, 13, died on July 17 at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where she had been admitted a day earlier after being found unconscious near a drain at her school hostel in Papar at 4 am.
The Attorney General’s Chambers ordered her remains exhumed for a post-mortem on Aug 8, before announcing a formal inquest into her death on Aug 13.
The inquest resumes from June 22 to 26. - BERNAMA