Adolescent suicide attempters: response to suicide-prevention programs

Suicide-prevention programs for adolescents, most of which follow a model that considers suicide a result of stress common to that stage of life, are increasingly widespread in high school curricula. However, the effectiveness and safety of such programs need to be evaluated. To this end, the effects of two suicide programs serving high school students were assessed. Several schools without such programs served as controls. The prevention programs lasted three or one and one-half hours, and were presented by teachers who had received several hours of training. Students were given a 48-item questionnaire to complete before and after participating in the programs: the questionnaire concerned such matters as warning signs of suicide and attitudes about seeking emotional support. The controls completed a questionnaire that omitted questions about the programs. Based on consistent responses to a question regarding previous suicide attempts, students were classified as attempters (63) and nonattempters (910). Attempters were more likely than nonattempters to agree with such statements as suicide is a possible solution for someone with a lot of problems and, if depressed, it is a good idea to keep such feelings to yourself. They were also more likely to have called a hot line or telephone crisis counseling service. Reactions of 35 attempters and 524 nonattempters to the suicide prevention programs were compared; the programs seemed to have little impact on students' attitudes toward suicide. In fact, there were signs of negative effects of the programs. Attempters felt that talking about suicide in the classroom could make some people more likely to try to kill themselves. They were more upset by the programs, and were less likely to think that other students should participate in them. In summary, suicide-prevention programs for students in this age group deserve careful evaluation; the development of alternative approaches to this problem seems warranted. The authors note that the prevalence of suicide attempts was greater, as indicated by the questionnaire, than in studies based on interviews. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)