Adolescent suicide prevention: Gender differences in students' perceptions of the acceptability and intrusiveness of school-based screening programs

Suicidal behavior is a significant problem among adolescents in the United States. Three types of school-based suicide prevention programs have been proposed to address this problem including curriculum programs, staff in-service training, and school-wide screening. The relative acceptability of these three programs among older adolescents was examined. The sample included 662 freshmen (496 females, 161 males) enrolled in a large private university. Respondents rated the degree to which they considered adolescent suicide to be a significant problem, and the acceptability, intrusiveness, and time demands of the three suicide prevention programs. A majority (85.9%) of the sample agreed that adolescent suicide was a significant problem. Significant gender differences were observed in relation to the acceptability ratings of the school-based suicide programs. Female participants rated the curriculum-based program and staff in-service training as more acceptable than male participants. In addition, female participants rated the curriculum-based program as significantly less intrusive and less time demanding than male participants. Implications of these findings for implementation of suicide prevention programs and for future research are discussed.     

Development and evaluation of school-based violence prevention programs

Discusses key issues in developing and evaluating school-based violence prevention interventions. Schools provide a natural setting for implementing programs directed at teaching youth attitudes, knowledge, and skills to reduce their involvement in violence. Although multitudes of these programs exist, few have been rigorously evaluated. Developers of violence prevention programs need to pay particular attention to the type of violence being addressed, the target population, relevant risk and protective factors, and the target of the intervention. Conducting sound evaluations of such programs requires careful attention to the unit of randomization, treatment conditions, outcome measures, timing of data collection, and potential moderator variables. Efforts to develop effective prevention programs can be greatly facilitated by adopting an action-research strategy in which evaluation findings provide a basis for continual program refinement.     

Evaluation of a youth suicide prevention school program

Adolescent suicide is a subject of increasing national concern. In California, this problem was addressed through the implementation of a three-year youth suicide prevention school program established by legislative mandate in 1983. Findings for the first two years of the program indicate significant gains in understanding of youth suicide prevention techniques for those high school students who completed a four-hour training course. School staff and parents completing 90-minute youth suicide awareness seminars indicated that they most appreciated receiving practical advice and resources they could use in responding to a potentially suicidal young person.     

The effectiveness of school-based bullying prevention programs: A systematic review

Bullying is a social phenomenon. About 30% of school children are involved in bullying as victims, bullies, or bully/victims. The victims of bullying suffer multiple negative consequences, including poor social and academic adjustment, depression, and anxiety. This paper extends Farrington and Ttofi's (2009) meta-analysis of controlled trials of 44 bullying interventions, which suggests that bullying programs are effective in decreasing bullying and victimization. We review controlled trials of bullying interventions published from June, 2009 through April, 2013, focusing on substantive results across 32 studies that examined 24 bullying interventions. Of the 32 articles, 17 assess both bullying and victimization, 10 assess victimization only, and 5 assess bullying only. Of the 22 studies examining bullying perpetration, 11 (50%) observed significant effects; of the 27 studies examining bullying victimization, 18 (67%) reported significant effects. Although the overall findings are mixed, the data suggest that interventions implemented outside of the United States with homogeneous samples are more successful than programs implemented in the United States, where samples tend to be more heterogeneous. Few studies have measured bullying with sufficient precision to have construct validity. Finding strong measures to assess the complex construct of bullying remains a major challenge for the field.     

Evaluation of the effectiveness of suicide prevention programs: a methodological perspective

Many studies that attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment programs for suicidal patients are methodologically deficient in one or more areas. This paper outlines six criteria that should be met in designing such investigations: Patients should be randomly assigned to groups; at least 80% of the subjects who were initially enrolled should be followed up; the results should be both statistically significant and clinically important; all clinically relevant outcomes should be reported; the patients must be adequately described; and the new intervention should be feasible in other settings. It is shown that these criteria are both necessary and achievable.     

The science of public messages for suicide prevention: a workshop summary

There is minimal guidance for efforts to create effective public messages that increase awareness that suicide is preventable. To address this need, several agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Annenberg Foundation convened a workshop consisting of suicide prevention advocates and persons with expertise in public health evaluation, suicide contagion, decision-making, and marketing. "Logic models" were used to define intended messages and audiences, assumed mechanisms of change, and outcomes. This summary describes some of the challenges and opportunities identified by workshop participants in evaluating public awareness campaigns in suicide prevention, technical assistance needs, and a proposed research agenda.     

Youth suicide: a psychosocial perspective

I draw on my studies in different cultures and subcultures and in different age groups to develop a psychosocial perspective for viewing youthful suicide. This perspective utilizes disciplines ranging from demography to psychodynamics to discuss the relationship of violence to suicide; the role of families in producing youngsters who become preoccupied with death and suicide; and the directions that seem most profitable for future research.     

Religion and suicide acceptability: a cross-national analysis

Four perspectives (moral community thesis, religious integration, religious commitment, and social networks) guide the selection of variables in this study. Data are from the combined World Values/European Values Surveys for 2000 (50,547 individuals nested in 56 nations). The results of a multivariate hierarchical linear model support all four perspectives. Persons residing in nations with relatively high levels of religiosity, who are affiliated with one of four major faiths, are religiously committed, and are engaged with a religious network are found to be lower in suicide acceptability. The religious integration perspective, in particular, is empirically supported; affiliation with Islam is associated with low suicide acceptability. The findings provide strong support for an integrated model and demonstrate the usefulness of the moral community thesis in understanding suicide acceptability.     

Youth suicide: a cross-cultural perspective

Changes in the suicide rate of teenagers and young adults internationally from 1970 to 1980 were examined. Twenty-three nations experienced an increase (with Norway experiencing the largest percentage increase), while six experienced a decrease. Unlike general suicide rates, teenage suicide rates were not related to the quality of life in the nations surveyed.     

Weight concerns among elementary school children: a review of prevention programs

There is increasing evidence that children display high levels of weight and muscle concerns, which include body dissatisfaction and problem eating. In order to address these issues, researchers have designed and implemented prevention programs for this age group. Thirteen published studies were located and reviewed, with children aged 8-12 years from elementary schools, or equivalent. Overall, the programs were shown to be effective in improving children's knowledge at post-test and at follow-up assessments. However, there is limited evidence to show that the programs reduced or prevented body image concerns and/or problem eating. Too few studies have examined muscle concerns so no conclusions can yet be drawn about this domain. Limitations of the studies and suggestions for future prevention efforts are discussed.     

Alberta's suicide prevention training programs: a retrospective comparison with Rothman's developmental research model

Developmental research is used to transform existing knowledge into applied programs. A social research and development (R&D) method, developed by Rothman for the human service professions, is compared with the method used to develop the Suicide Prevention Training Programs in Alberta, Canada. A retrospective review compares the development of these programs, which have since been implemented both nationally and internationally, with Rothman's model; discusses social R&D as a transformation methodology; and draws conclusions about the probable success of using developmental research methods in the human services. The review finds that the Alberta method closely paralleled the phases of Rothman's model. Results show that the transformation of knowledge about suicide into widely disseminated suicide prevention training programs can be attributed to the application of social R&D principles. The study concludes that the use of developmental research methods to establish human service programs should increase the probability of their success.     

Helpline: suicide prevention at a suicide site

In an effort to reduce the number of suicides from the Mid-Hutson Bridge in Poughkeepsie, New York, the Dutchess County Department of Mental Hygiene and the New York State Bridge Authority jointly established a suicide prevention phone on the bridge, which is directly connected to a 24-hour psychiatric emergency service. This program is the first known one in which a dedicated suicide prevention helpline has been installed at a site of known suicides and linked with a mental health service. After 2 years of operation, the phone has been used 30 times; the data suggest that most would-be jumpers are ambivalent enough about dying that they will reach out for help/contact if the opportunity exists, and, as a consequence, can be saved.     

The Zuni Life Skills Development Program: a school/community-based suicide prevention intervention

The Zuni Life Skills Development Program, an effective community-initiated and high-school-based suicide prevention intervention, is featured. Development and evaluation of this intervention are followed by note of the specific challenges associated with stabilizing the program. A more tribally diverse, culturally-informed model entitled the American Indian Life Skills Development Curriculum is then presented to illustrate a hybrid approach to the cultural tailoring of interventions. This curriculum is broad enough to address concerns across diverse American Indian tribal groups yet respectful of distinctive and heterogeneous cultural beliefs and practices. Finally, we reflect upon issues in community-based research that emerged during this collaboration.     

Training school personnel to implement a universal school-based prevention of depression program under real-world conditions

The present study evaluated the impact of a universal prevention of depression program [the Resourceful Adolescent Program (RAP)] when implemented under real-world conditions in a school setting. Prior research has found the RAP program to be beneficial for high-school students when the program was implemented by university staff selected, trained, and supervised by a research team. The present study evaluated the RAP program when implemented by existing school personnel. Separately, we measured the impact of a training program for facilitators, the quality of subsequent program implementation, and the student's response to the RAP Program. Results showed that, in response to the training program, facilitators believed they had acquired the knowledge and confidence to implement the program and that the quality of program implementation was acceptable. The study did not demonstrate a beneficial impact of the RAP program for the students. The results raise important questions regarding the extent of training and ongoing supervision facilitators require if the beneficial outcomes for students are to be maintained when interventions are implemented under real-world conditions in school settings.     

Law-related training in school psychology: A national survey of doctoral programs

This article deals with the nature of law-related training in doctoral programs in school psychology. The characteristics of such training efforts are described, and implications for future training activities are discussed.     

Effectiveness of school-based prevention and intervention programs for children and adolescents with emotional disturbance: A meta-analysis

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of school-based prevention and intervention programs for children and adolescents at-risk for and with emotional disturbance. Published outcome studies (k = 29) from December, 1988, to March, 2006, including 1405 children and adolescents were reviewed. Each investigation was coded on several variables describing the child, parent, and teacher samples, as well as reported outcome results. The overall mean weighted effect size was 1.00 at post-test and 1.35 at follow-up. Mean weighted ESs were 0.42 for between-subjects design studies, 0.87 for within-subjects design studies, and 1.87 for single-subject design studies. Prevention programs yielded a mean weighted ES of 0.54 and intervention programs produced a mean weighted ES of 1.35. Findings for specific outcome foci are presented and implications are discussed.