School-Based Suicide Prevention and Intervention Programs

• NCJ Number: 164025
• Journal: Prevention Researcher Volume: 3 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1996) Pages: 9-11
• Author(s): P B Malley; F Kush; R J Bogo
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 3 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In 1995, suicide was the third leading cause of death among young people between 15 and 24 years of age and the fourth leading cause of death for children between 5 and 14 years of age; actual cases of adolescent suicide, however, are probably underreported due to the tendency to disguise them as accidents.

Abstract

In response to the adolescent suicide problem, many experts view schools as a primary location to implement various suicide prevention programs, including activities to educate, identify, and intervene with at risk-young people. Schools and school officials can offer a tremendous amount of consistent, direct contact time with large populations of adolescents. Because schools are found in almost every community, they represent potentially strategic and effective suicide prevention resources. Many schools have responded to adolescent suicide by developing and adopting various programs. Information on the content and effectiveness of these programs, however, is seldom reported in professional journals and reports. Nonetheless, the literature suggests that effective school-based suicide prevention and intervention programs must be comprehensive and systematic. A survey of randomly selected secondary school counselors is reported that was conducted to determine the extent to which their school districts responded to adolescent suicide. The survey was sent to 1,000 counselors, and 325 responses were used (32.5 percent). Survey responses revealed that three components were present in over 65 percent of schools: mental health counseling for at-risk students, mental health team, and mental health professional. Most schools reported some form of mental health counseling for students, and 51 percent provided suicide reference materials for counselors. Schools employing written policies were considerably more comprehensive and systematic in their approach to suicide prevention and intervention than schools without written policies. Misconceptions about suicide are noted, and recommendations are offered to help school counselors prevent adolescent suicide.