Adolescent Suicide Myths in the United States

Development and psychometric properties of the Suicidality of Adolescent Screening Scale (SASS) using Multidimensional Item Response Theory

Suicide prevention in adolescents by early detection using screening tools to identify high suicidal risk is a priority. Our objective was to build a multidimensional scale namely "Suicidality of Adolescent Screening Scale (SASS)" to identify adolescents at risk of suicide. An initial pool of items was developed by using in-depth interview, focus groups and a literature review. Initially, 77 items were administered to 307 adolescents and analyzed using the exploratory Multidimensional Item Response Theory (MIRT) to remove unnecessary items. A subsequent exploratory factor analysis revealed 35 items that collected into 4 factors: Stressors, Pessimism, Suicidality and Depression. To confirm this structure, a new sample of 450 adolescents were collected and confirmatory MIRT factor analysis was performed. The resulting scale was shown to be both construct valid and able to discriminate well between adolescents that had, and hadn't previous attempted suicide.

Cutting to cope - a modern adolescent phenomenon

BACKGROUND

The frequency of young people cutting themselves appears to be increasing, with one review estimating the current prevalence across the UK to be between 1 in 12 and 1 in 15.

AIM

To identify factors that are associated with self-harm by cutting, and more especially coping strategies that if encouraged might reduce such behaviour.

METHOD

Multivariate and exploratory factor analysis were used to analyse the results from a survey of the pupils attending four large comprehensive schools in the North of England where the frequency of cutting behaviour was causing concern.

RESULTS

Three factors were identified from the analysis - Social & Active Coping, Seeking External Solutions and Non-Productive Coping. The Social & Active Coping was the only factor that significantly correlated with non-cutting behaviour.

CONCLUSIONS

The fostering of the elements that make up Social & Active Coping - namely working successfully and feeling a sense of achievement, together with positive friendship networks and positive diversions, including physical recreation, will help to minimize young people's sense of needing to cope by cutting themselves.

Suicidal ideation in adolescents: an explanatory model using LISREL

Suicidal ideation has been reported to be a major factor in attempted and completed suicides. The purpose of this study is to test a structural model to explain adolescent suicidal ideation. Specifically tested is the relationship between the predictor variables of trait anger, anger suppression, entrapment, psychosomatic symptoms, depression, and resilience and the dependent variable of suicidal ideation. Data are collected from a convenience sample of 11,393 students from 36 middle schools and 23 high schools in Korea. Trait anger, entrapment, psychosomatic symptoms, depression, and resilience have a direct effect on suicidal ideation whereas anger suppression shows a significant indirect effect on adolescent suicidal ideation. The predictor variables account for 39% of the variance in suicidal ideation. The study findings suggest that future programs for prevention or alleviation of adolescents' suicidal ideation need to use interventions that facilitate their resilience and reduce their anger, entrapment feeling, psychosomatic symptoms, and depression.

The President’s New Freedom Commission: Capitalizing on Opportunities to Advance School-Based Mental Health Services

The report from President George W. Bush's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (NFC), Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America(2003), proposes goals and recommendations for improving mental health services. This report has significant implications for the delivery of mental health services through the schools. A focused discussion of the potential opportunities and challenges of implementing NFC recommendations related to school-based mental health is presented. Strategies for addressing five key areas at the intersection of school mental health and the Commission's recommendations include: stigma reduction, suicide prevention, expansion and improvement of school mental health, and screening and treatment of co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders.

Gay-male couples who adopt: challenging historical and contemporary social trends toward becoming a family

TOPIC

Gay-male couples who adopt children face ongoing challenges that stem from both historical and contemporary social issues.

PURPOSE

To examine and identify key points and guidance for advanced practice psychiatric mental health nurses regarding multicultural awareness involved in counseling gay-male couples who explore or exercise their right to adopt and raise children.

SOURCES

A comprehensive review of the extant scientific literature and public media, clinical anecdotes, therapeutic experiences, and an examination of Healthy People 2010 as it relates to how community health is profoundly affected by the collective beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of everyone who lives in the community.

CONCLUSIONS

Heterosexism, homophobic fears, oppression, and the general stigma that surround gay-male couples who choose to adopt children are a few of the relevant contemporary issues and community beliefs for which advanced practice psychiatric mental health nurses need to assess, explore, and intervene.

Belief in the inevitability of suicide: results from a national survey

To examine public opinion regarding the effectiveness of means restriction as an approach to preventing suicide we asked a national sample of 2,770 respondents a hypothetical question about what effect a suicide barrier might have had on the ultimate fate of the more than 1,000 people who have jumped to their death from the Golden Gate Bridge. Thirty-four percent of respondents believed that every single jumper would have found another way to complete suicide and an additional 40% believed that "most" would have completed suicide using other means. The strongest predictors of belief in complete substitution were firearm ownership and cigarette smoking. Belief in the inevitability of suicide may be a political impediment to adopting potentially effective suicide prevention efforts.