NCJ Number
220594
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 46 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2007 Pages: 1341-1348
Date Published
October 2007
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined symptomatology and mental health service following students' participation in a large urban school district's suicide prevention program.
Abstract
Approximately two-thirds of the students received school or community mental health services following contact with the suicide prevention program. Depressive symptoms, but not a past-year suicide attempt predicted the use of community mental health service. Latino students had lower rates of community mental health service use than non-Latinos. School-based service use did not differ by student characteristics, including race/ethnicity. Most students identified as at risk for suicide by the school-based prevention program received followup care. School-based mental health services may be an important way in which underserved populations at risk for suicide can receive care. The Youth Suicide Prevention Program (YSPP) of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is one of the first school-based programs established in the Nation consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention School Gatekeeper Training Model to Prevent School Suicide. In referring students to the YSPP, staff use criteria outlined in the YSPP districtwide training for identifying students at risk for suicide. Students then receive a YSPP assessment. In 2001, school district staff conducted telephone interviews with 95 randomly selected parents approximately 5 months following their child's contact with YSPP. Parents provided information on service use, their child's depressive symptoms, and their perceptions of their child's need for services. 3 tables and 32 references