Suicide prevention program focuses on teens
Research shows 'Signs of Suicide' helps reduce the number of attempts by high school students.
from the January 3, 2008 edition
Page 3 of 3
After the videos, the class is quiet. Poulten invites questions and discussion, but she doesn't push when there's no verbal response. Many students nod when asked if they would feel comfortable talking to an adult about a friend exhibiting the signs they've just learned about. A few say the Medway student's video was easier to relate to than the SOS video, in which actors play out scenes and the right and wrong way to react to a friend exhibiting various warning signs.
Their English teacher, Laura Morris, wonders if the message really sank in for these honors students. "I saw them kind of smirking and laughing.... I was wondering, how can kids get over that sense of 'Oh, that's silly, that's for the kids who are messed up'?"
Most students do take the message seriously, Poulten and the peer counselors say. It's difficult to know if the absence of suicide at Medway in the past few years has been because of SOS. But Poulten has seen an increase in students referring their friends to her.
"We hope that this has a long-lasting effect. At least it's in the back of their mind ... that there's help and if the subject [of suicide] comes up, and what they can do about it," she says.
Facts about youth suicide rates
In 2005, 16.9 percent of US high school students reported they had seriously considered attempting suicide – and 8.4 percent actually had attempted suicide – in the past year.
Among 15- to 24-year-olds in the US:
•There is 1 suicide for every 100 to 200 attempts.
•Suicide is the third-leading cause of death.
•Suicide accounts for 12.9 percent of deaths annually (compared with 1.4 percent of deaths in the overall population).
Source: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
How to find help and more information
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org 800-273-TALK (8255)
National Hopeline Network www.hopeline.com 800-442-HOPE (4673)
Mental Health Screening www.mentalhealthscreening.org (781) 239-0071
National Institute of Mental Health www.nimh.nih.gov (301) 443-4513
National Emergency Assistance Team www.nasponline.org/resources/crisis_safety/NEAT.aspx (301) 657-0270
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