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Saving Lives in New York Volume 2: Approaches and Special Populations
(3.) Professional Education Programs
Stakeholder: Service Providers
Training primary care physicians and pediatricians
about suicide risk, assessment and
treatment is an essential suicide prevention
strategy. Despite the frequent prescription of
SSRIs by primary care physicians and pediatricians,
they admit to inadequate training
in the treatment of childhood depression.
Training medical professionals in the appropriate
use of antidepressant and mood-stabilizing
drugs has been found to reduce the
suicide rate, at least among female adults.
The demonstrated effectiveness of such
educational programs should encourage
their dissemination.
Resources: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (2003).
The Suicidal Patient: Assessment and Care. A film available
at AFSP.org/index-1.htm; American Academy of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry Workgroup on Quality Issues.
Practice parameters for the assessment and treatment of
children and adolescents with suicidal behavior. Journal of
the American Academy of Adolescent and Child Psychiatry,
40 (7), 24s-51s, (2001)
(4.) Postvention/Crisis Intervention
in Schools
Stakeholder: Schools
A timely response to a suicide is likely to
reduce subsequent depression and suicidal
ideation and behavior in fellow students.
The major goals of postvention/crisis intervention
programs is to assist survivors in
the grief process, identify and refer those
individuals who may be at risk following
the suicide, provide accurate information
about suicide while attempting to minimize
suicide contagion, and implement a structure
for ongoing prevention efforts.
Resource: Services for Teens at Risk (STAR) Center Postvention.
Standards Guidelines (Mary Margaret Kerr, Ed.D. Director,
STAR- Center Outreach (kerrmm@msx.upmc.edu)
C. Develop Risk Reduction Plans
(1). School-Based Risk Reduction Plans
Stakeholder: Schools
Teaching cognitive and social problemsolving
techniques to children as they enter
puberty can yield a “psychological immunization”
against depressive symptoms.
Cognitive interventions begun in late childhood
may prevent depressive symptoms
from developing in early adolescence. Middle
school aged children are targeted for
this prevention strategy.
Resource: Penn Resiliency Project (PRP) 3815 Walnut Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19104 (215) 573-4128
(2). Firearms Restriction Procedures
Stakeholder: Parents and Other Adults
Firearms used in youth suicides are often
obtained from the home environment.
Firearm safety counseling to parents of
high-risk youth is one essential strategy for
youth suicide prevention. Such programs
emphasize safe storage and/or removal of
firearms from the home. Injury prevention
education in emergnecy rooms can lead
parents to take new action to limit access
to lethal means. The adult male in the
household or the actual gun owner has
been found to be the most appropriate person
to counsel.
Resource: Love Our Kids, Lock Your Guns (LOK)
(tamera_coyne-beasley@med.unc.edu)
(3). Alcohol Restriction Policies
Stakeholder: Government
Substance abuse is a significant risk factor
for suicidal behavior, particularly among
older adolescent males. Strategies to “tighten”
teenage access to alcohol have successfully
decreased youth suicidal behavior.
Such efforts have included increasing the
minimum drinking age from 18 to 21 years,
which resulted in a substantial decrease in
youth suicide deaths. Additional efforts to
make drinking more difficult among
teenagers include stricter enforcement of
such laws in bars, liquor stores, and other
establishments selling beer. Increased surveillance
of cases of drinking while intoxicated
may also enhance case finding of atrisk
teens.
Resource: Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective
Responsibility. Richard Bonnie and Mary Ellen O’Connell,
Editors, Committee on Developing a Strategy to Reduce and
Prevent Underage Drinking, National Research Council,
Institute of Medicine. (www.nap.edu/catalog/10729.html)
(4). Media Education
Stakeholder: Youth/Peers
Given the substantial evidence for suicide
contagion and imitative behavior among
teenagers, recommended prevention
strategies involve educating media profes-
40 Adolescents