Program Helps High School Students Overcome Depression And Thoughts Of Suicide

Program Helps High School Students Overcome Depression And Thoughts Of Suicide

A self-murderer prevention program developed at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has significantly helped teens discomfit depression and thoughts of suicide, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the September 2011 impression of the Journal of School Health, shows that students who gain gone through the program, Surviving the Teens®, are significantly smaller likely to report that they are considering suicide, planning suicide or have attempted self-homicide than before participating in the program.

The study, conducted by Keith King, PhD, a professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services, direct be published online Aug. 11 and in the im~ edition Aug. 16.

"The overwhelming majority of students felt Surviving the Teens helped them to learn self-murderer warning signs, suicide and depression hazard factors, how to effectively cope by stress, steps to take if they or a intimate felt suicidal, and how to town ~ to their parents and friends near their problems," says Cathy Strunk, RN, self-murderer prevention expert in the division of Psychiatry at Cincinnati Children's who developed Surviving the Teens.

The program is single in kind of the few suicide prevention programs to take data supporting its effectiveness.

Strunk tight the Surviving the Teens curriculum to again than 6,000 high school students in Warren, Butler and Hamilton counties during the 2008-2009 school year. For this study, added than 900 were surveyed before going through the program and subsequent to completing the program. More than 400 were surveyed three months later.

Among the findings in self-reported behaviors, feelings, intentions and attitudes three months following the program compared to pre-proof:

-- Students who reported considering suicide decreased 65 percent, from 4.2 percent of students to 1.5 percent.

-- Students who reported planning to essay suicide decreased 48 percent, from 9.9 percent of students to 5.2 percent.

-- Students who reported having attempted self-murderer decreased 67 percent, from 5.2 percent of students to 1.7 percent.

-- Students who reported sensitive sad and hopeless decreased 26 percent, from 22.6 percent of students to 16.8 percent.

"The program taught students how to have more self-trust and how to engage in absolute behavior, which lessens the risk of them contemplating suicide," says Strunk.

The review administered immediately after completing the program showed that:

-- Nearly 72 percent of students intended to confabulation more to their parents about their problems, penuriously 81 percent intended to talk to their friends to a greater degree about their problems, and nearly 90 percent intended to patronize their friends to talk more to them on the point their problems.

-- Students' knowledge of stagnation risk factors suicide risk factors, and self-destruction warning signs increased significantly.

-- Students' eager to seek help when suicidal increased.

"This study focused attached students' self-reporting, so it is unclear for what cause closely their feelings and attitudes example actual behavior," says Michael Sorter, MD, monitor of Psychiatry at Cincinnati Children's and study co-father. "This is something we need to examine at in the future. Even admitting we don't claim that Surviving the Teens is the reply to suicidal behavior, we are surpassingly encouraged by the research so estranged indicating how helpful the program force be."

Strunk and the division of Psychiatry at Cincinnati Children's created Surviving the Teens to engage information, resources and support to remedy guide teens and families through the ups and downs of life. The course of studies focuses on educating students about the admonitory signs of suicide in either themselves or friends and in what state they can get help if they or their friends gain suicidal feelings. The program includes a ~ part called Steps to Last™, what one. assists students in understanding what steps they extremity to take if they, their friends or tribe members need help.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, self-slaughter is the third leading cause of dissolution in children ages 15-24.