Discusses the involvement of school psychologists in dealing with youth suicide. Discusses primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention techniques and working with the aftermath of a suicide attempt. Argues for differential services and attention for alternative education students, gay and lesbian youth, certain ethnic minority youth, and…

Employed simulations of encounters with suicidal peers to assess the impact of classroom suicide response lessons. Students who had the lesson provided significantly more "tell an adult" responses than those in the control group. Females expressed greater concern than did males. Results provide evidence for the efficacy of such classes. (RJM)

Suicide has become the solution to an increasing number of gifted youth's mounting frustrations, including success depression and school stress. One possible solution is mandatory counseling within the gifted curriculum as a preventive intervention. (MSE)

Studied 165 lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths, 15 to 21 years old, to determine the impact of verbal abuse, threat of attacks, and assault on their mental health. Found a direct effect of victimization on mental health, whereas family support and self-acceptance in concert mediated this victimization and mental health relation. (MDM)

Evaluation strategies for focused educational programs in suicide prevention are explored. Additionally, a broad, systematic approach is called for that increases student participation; such an approach appears to have been effective with a variety of youth deviant behavior. A combination of these broad and narrow foci may be necessary to address…

Examined adolescent suicide attempts and temporal cycles in a multiethnic population. Medical records in Hawaii were reviewed for adolescents (ages 12-18) admitted for suicide attempts during the years 1987-91. Results showed significant increases in attempts during the afternoon/evening and on Mondays and Tuesdays and transition points between…

Discusses bereavement and mourning and reviews group applications for the resolution of uncomplicated grief. Presents studies that describe grief experiences of suicide survivors and community reaction to survivors. Argues that a structured group experience, where support is provided by other survivors, gives optimal help to people bereaved by…

Surveys of nonreferred students in grades 7 through 12 found that girls endorsed more depressive symptomatology than did boys, but the magnitude of the effect was trivial. Over one-third of the sample reported suicidal ideation. It is suggested that effect-size analyses may advance understanding of normative research on depression. (RJM)

A teacher of gifted students recounts the story of Genna, a gifted but depressed high school student who attempted suicide but was later able to confront her problems realistically and provide insights to other students, teachers, and counselors. (DB)

Compared Rothman's social research and development (R&D) method with procedure used to develop Suicide Prevention Training Programs in Alberta, Canada. Retrospective review found that Alberta method closely paralleled phases of Rothman's model and that transformation of knowledge about suicide into widely disseminated suicide prevention…

The psychometric properties and validity of the Reasons for Living (RFL) Inventory were examined among psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents (N=253) identified as suicide ideators, suicide attempters, and psychiatric controls. Factor analysis provided support for RFL for clinical and research assessment while producing slightly different…

Parents of 49 children with developmental disabilities ranging from mild to severe completed the Reasons for Living Inventory. No significant differences were found between men and women or between individuals in one-parent versus two-parent households. Results suggested that the experience of having a disabled child may help to strengthen…

The structural relations among depression, suicidal ideation, gateway substance abuse, and hard substance use were studied with continuation high school students considered at high risk for drug abuse. Significant differences among factor correlations for the various ethnic groups were found, and implications are discussed. (SLD)

Examined relationship between suicidal behavior and homosexuality in adolescence in an unselected, matched sample. Found no evidence that suicide is a common characteristic of gay youth, or that when suicide does occur among gay teenagers, that it is a direct consequence of stigmatization or lack of support. (JBJ)

Working together, schools and families can provide a character-based approach to sexuality education. Schools can give parents a wake-up call, provide historical perspective, share good news, encourage parents to talk with kids, help discuss dangers, identify rewards of waiting, give guidelines, and support chaste lifestyles. (Contains 21…