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Suicide ranks as the third leading cause of death for American youth. Researchers examining sport participation and suicidal behavior have regularly found inverse relationships. This study represents the first effort to test a model depicting potential mechanisms through which sport participation relates to reduced risk of suicidal ideation. The participants were 450 undergraduate students. Measures assessed participants' involvement in university-run sports and other activities; frequency of physical activity; and perceived social support, self-esteem, depression, hopelessness, loneliness, and suicidal ideation. Regression analyses confirmed a path model and tested for mediation effects. Vigorous activity mediated relationships between sport participation and self-esteem and depression; and self-esteem and depression mediated the relationship between vigorous activity and suicidal ideation. Social support mediated relationships between sport participation and depression, hopelessness, and loneliness; and each of these risk factors partially mediated the relationship between social support and suicidal ideation. However no variable fully mediated the relationship between sport participation and suicidal ideation. This study provides a foundation for research designed to examine pathways through which sport participation relates to reduced risk of suicidal behavior.

Objective: This study explored whether specific dimensions of spiritual well-being (religious well-being and existential well-being) relate to reduced suicidal ideation, and whether associations persisted after controlling for religiosity and psychosocial variables associated with suicide., Participants: Participants were 457 college students who completed measures that assessed spiritual well-being, religiosity, hopelessness, depression, social support, and suicidal ideation., Methods: The authors used linear regression modeling to assess religious and spiritual correlates of suicidal ideation., Results: After controlling for demographic variables and psychosocial factors, neither involvement in organized religion nor religious well-being significantly contributed to suicidal ideation. However, even after controlling for significant correlates, existential well-being remained a significant predictor of suicidal ideation., Conclusions: This investigation highlighted existential well-being as an important factor associated with lower levels of suicidal ideation among college students. Findings from this study focusing on the association between spiritual well-being and suicidality may prove especially beneficial to suicide prevention efforts.

Objective: The authors explored associations among types of physical activity and hopelessness, depression, and suicidal behavior among college students., Participants: Participants included 43,499 college students aged 18 to 25 who completed the 2005 National College Health Assessment conducted by the American College Health Association., Methods: The authors used logistic regression modeling to compare the odds of experiencing hopelessness, depression, and suicidal behavior in students who engaged in various levels of aerobic and strength or toning activity with students who did not perform these activities., Results: Men and women who engaged in some physical activity each week demonstrated a reduced risk of hopelessness, depression, and suicidal behavior compared with their inactive counterparts., Conclusions: This study provides empirical evidence that establishes the association between physical activity, especially aerobic activity, and reduced risk of hopelessness, depression, and suicidal behavior among college students.

Background: Suicide ranks as the third leading cause of death for adolescents. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that the adolescent suicide rate increased 18% between 2003 and 2004. Sport may represent a promising protective factor against adolescent suicide. This study examined the relative risk of hopelessness and suicidality associated with physical activity and sport participation., Methods: Data from the CDC's 2005 Youth Risk Behavior Survey were analyzed. Logistic regression modeling was used to compare the odds of hopelessness and suicidality in students who engaged in various levels of physical activity to inactive students. Similar analyses were performed comparing risks of athletes to nonathletes, and the risks of highly involved athletes to nonathletes., Results: Findings showed that frequent, vigorous activity reduced the risk of hopelessness and suicidality among male adolescents. However, low levels of activity actually increased the risk of feeling hopeless among young females. Yet, for both males and females, sport participation protected against hopelessness and suicidality., Conclusion: These findings indicate that involvement in sport confers unique psychosocial benefits that protect adolescents against suicidality. Findings suggest that mechanisms other than physical activity contribute to the protective association between sport and reduced suicidality. Social support and integration may account for some of the differences found in suicidality between athletes and nonathletes.

Presents a study which attempts to document components of the planning process used by school-based clinics (SBC) and to delineate factors significantly related to the breadth and types of services offered. Positive health outcomes for youth; Clinic site selection; Research instrumentation; Clinic characteristics; Scope and quality of SBC programs; Public opposition; Documentation of need.