Past and Future of School-Based Youth Suicide Prevention: Overview and Exemplar from the Field

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

​​Suicidality among adolescents was common pre-COVID and has been exacerbated in the pandemic’s wake. In 2019, ~1 in 5 youth seriously considered suicide and ~1 in 10 made a suicide attempt (Ivey-Stephenson et al. 2019). Higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thinking – perhaps as a result of COVID’s toll on activities, social connections, and loss of life – have resulted in more emergency room visits for attempts (Yard et al., 2021) and portend a mental health pandemic, resulting in the declaration of an “emergency in child mental health” (AAP-AACAP-CHA, 2021). Barriers to mental health care (for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth, especially) makes reliance on the mental health system insufficient for reaching youth early in their “suicide risk trajectory.” Researchers and policymakers alike need a complete understanding of well-studied prevention strategies to address youth suicide, as well as a blueprint for innovative strategies informed by the latest science on adolescent development ready for integration into normative settings.

This panel will present theory and features of promising school-based prevention strategies, with specific focus on a novel approach with potential for scale. Drawing from an SRCD Social Policy Report (Morris-Perez & Abenavoli, proposal accepted, paper in progress), paper 1 will present the theoretical foundation, key features, and findings of existing school-based suicide prevention, in the context of youth suicide prevention broadly. Papers 2 and 3 present implementation and preliminary qualitative findings of an innovative approach to addressing youth suicide. A discussant will reflect on this work in the context of prevention and youth inequality.

Sub Unit

• Prevention and Interventions

Chair

• Pamela Morris-Perez, New York University

Discussant

• Adam Gamoran, William T. Grant Foundation

Individual Presentations

• A Social Policy Report on Youth Suicide Prevention - Presenting Author: Pamela Morris-Perez, New York University; Rachel M Abenavoli, New York University

• Directing Change: A novel approach to suicide prevention - Presenting Author: Jana Sczersputowski; Devin Saragosa-Harris; Stan Collins

• Extending a Theory of Change: Qualitative Research of a Novel Approach to Suicide Prevention - Presenting Author: Rachel M Abenavoli, New York University; Pamela Morris-Perez, New York University