Youth Suicide Prevention
Steering Committee
October 1, 2023
In the month of September our clients/students and staff settle into their daily school routines and are beginning to get to know each other better. This might be the time of the year that staff reflect on the needs of their clients/students and may begin to look to us for support and resources. It is important that we are prepared and have resources available for our clients/students and staff
As September marks the observances of two key subjects that affect youth, Desert Mountain Children’s Center (DMCC) wants to take a moment to provide some information and resources for two observations: Suicide Prevention Month and National Recovery Month.
DMCC has written before regarding the increase in suicide rates in youth from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey results released earlier this year, we know that poor mental health and suicidal thoughts and behaviors have increased for nearly all groups of youth.1 California has experienced a 45% rate increase in suicide rates between the years of 2000-2018.2 Especially worrying are the trends in increases of suicide rates and thoughts and behaviors in girls, Black, and LGBTQ+ youth.
Schools can help mitigate the factors that may lead youth to consider suicide by creating safe environments where youth can be themselves and feel supported. One key protective factor for youth who may be at risk is having at least one healthy relationship with a trusted adult. Schools can help by assisting youth in developing healthy relationships with peers and adults utilizing programs that build life skills, promote emotional well-being, and boost resiliency.3 Utilizing training programs such as Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) to aid staff in recognizing youth who may be in distress and training staff in actual suicide prevention programs such as Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and SafeTALK can help staff feel equipped to handle a crisis if one should arise.
Schools are an important place and space for suicide prevention programming because:
students.
- It is safe for schools to ask youth about suicidal thoughts/behaviors; asking about suicide provides an opportunity to save a student’s life.
- Suicide prevention should be implemented in multiple settings, especially schools.
- Suicide prevention and intervention in schools is more accessible and equitable than specialty mental health care.4
The reasons that schools are an important place for suicide prevention education is because research has shown that this programming in schools is highly likely to detect high risk youth that would not otherwise be identified, and that youth are generally accommodating of efforts in schools that ask them about their suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Schools are also an important place to screen youth for suicidal behavior because often caregivers/parents are not aware that their child is a suicide risk and so schools are a familiar, safe, and trusted place where students might be identified, and assistance provided. And the last of these very important reasons for why schools are a good place for suicide prevention efforts is because school may be the only place to reach marginalized youth who would not be identified as at risk any other place because they face so many barriers to accessing mental health care.4
The national suicide hotline can now be reached by dialing 988. On the other side of that number are skilled, trained crisis counselors prepared to speak with anyone who is experiencing a crisis. Since July 2022 the 988 Lifeline has answered nearly five million contacts via phone, text, and chat. They have decreased their average speed to answer, have expanded services to include text and chat services in Spanish, and added specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults.5 Be sure to let your clients/students and staff know that 988 is available if needed.
Additionally, the County of San Bernardino Department of Behavioral Health recently announced that they will have an Office of Suicide Prevention to help with awareness and education across the county.6 Be sure to make a note of this new office coming as they will serve as a local resource for awareness campaigns and training opportunities. Several additional resources are listed at the end of this article.
September is also Recovery Month dedicated to increasing public awareness surrounding mental health and addiction recovery. This year’s theme is “Hope is Real. Recovery is Real.” The main message of recovery month is that with the right treatment, support, and resources, recovery is possible for everyone. For youth, the road to recovery includes the whole family. Caregivers and families play a crucial role in supporting youth who are in recovery or who are starting their journey to recovery. Recovery is a holistic process that requires caregivers and family members to help youth balance the recovery process with school and other responsibilities.
Some more things we learned from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey are that:
- 23% of high school students reported that they currently drank alcohol.
- 30% of female students reported that they currently drank alcohol.
- White students were more likely than Asian, Black, and Hispanic students to currently drink alcohol.
- 16% of high school students reported that they currently use marijuana.
- Approximately 20% of female students reported that they currently used marijuana.
- Black students were more likely than Asian, Hispanic, and White students to currently use marijuana.
- 18% of high school students reported that they currently use an electronic vapor product.
- 13% of high school students reported that they ever used illicit drugs.
- Approximately 20% of LGBQ+ students reported that they had ever used select illicit drugs.
- Asian and Black students were less likely than students from nearly every other racial and ethnic group to have ever used select illicit drugs.
- 12% of high school students reported that they misused prescription opioids.
- 20% of LGBQ+ students reported that they had misused prescription opioids.
- 6% of high school students reported that they currently misused prescription drugs.
- Female students, LGBQ+ students, and students with any same-sex partners were more likely than their peers to engage in every substance use behavior.1
Among the many factors that can lead to substance use in youth is low academic achievement and lack of school connectedness.7 Therefore schools can support youth in recovery by building those protective factors we have already talked about – help youth build relationships with peers and trusted adults, be good role models, be a good source of information, help them come up with a plan if they are being pressured to partake in alcohol and/or other drugs by their peers, and connect them to resources needed. Be sure you have resources handy when students need them. There are several resources listed at the end of this article.
In closing, let this month’s observances of Suicide Prevention and Recovery remind us that the children and families we serve need us to be knowledgeable and resourceful so that we can offer our compassion, empathy, and support in their time of need. DMCC wants to be good partners in your efforts to assist the children in your care – please let us know how we can help you be a source of information and support to the youth we all serve!
References:
- Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Data Summary and Trends Report, 2011-2021
- Curtin SC. State suicide rates among adolescents and young adults aged 10-24: United States, 2000-2018. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 69 no 11. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2020.
- Preventing Suicide in Schools: A Systemwide Approach
- Ayer L, Colpe LJ. The Key Role of Schools in Youth Suicide Prevention. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2023 Jan;62(1):19-21. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2022.06.022. Epub 2022 Aug 17. PMID: 35987301; PMCID: PMC9384325.
- One Year Anniversary Fact Sheet
- DBH Hotline Numbers
- High-Risk Substance Use Among Youth
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