Annotated Bibliography on Youth Suicide Prevention – Jordan Schramm

The Center for Disease Control article “More Than a Mental Health Problem” discusses the prevalence of suicide in the U.S. and suggests that there are multiple factors that affect suicide ideations, attempts, and completions. Other influences such as relationships, substance use, physical health, financial health, and stress are noted in the article. The CDC also provided resources and tips for states and communities to reduce suicides in people who are at risk. One way mentioned was to promote safe and supportive environments, as well as incorporating activities that bring people together. Both of these strategies, along with others listed, can be utilized through community and school programs. Furthermore, the site gave tips on prevention, noticing warning signs, and for helping someone you think might be at risk.

The CDC is a trusted governmental website that provides statistics on various health related issues therefore it serves as a credible and reliable source for my grant proposal. In addition, the CDC does updates on their webpage when new information becomes available; the latest update was this year, so the information provided is timely. Though this reference does not narrow down statistics to the age group, it does mention that suicide is the number one cause of death in the United States and number two leading cause of death in ages 10-24. It also mentions suicidal trends with sex, other factors, and offers state comparisons through the use of charts; these graphics and statistics can be useful to my grant proposal to show that suicide is on a rise in the United States, and intervention must be implemented.

Holland, K. M., Vivolo-Kantor, A. M., Logan, J. E., & Leemis, R. W. (2016). Antecedents of Suicide among Youth Aged 11–15: A Multistate Mixed Methods Analysis. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(7), 1598-1610. doi:10.1007/s10964-016-0610-3

In their journal, Holland et. al. studies the factors that play a role in one’s suicidal ideations in adolescence ranging from family history of suicide, mental health issues, family problems, school stress, bullying and many others. The study focuses on decedent’s characteristics and factors contributing to their suicide, while also emphasizing that these risk-factors are co-occurring. The authors suggest that most commonly overlapping risk-factors include relational and school problems as well as arguments with parents. Furthermore, the authors mention the importance of multi-level interventions such as social, parental, and individual support as one way to delay or stop the compilation of risk-factors leading to a progression of suicidal thoughts and/or actions. Lastly the article highlights the importance of raising awareness for the health issue itself so that warning signs can be easily detected and people with direct contact of the suicidal individual can intervene accordingly.

This journal article is up to date and timely, as it was published in 2017. The article is reviewed from a scholarly and credible journal. In addition, the authors honestly and ethically state the implications of the study results coming from previous research as well as limitations of loved one’s not fully disclosing or knowing every detail of the decedent’s reason for taking his or her life. This information provided by this journal article makes a connection between individual behaviors and social factors compiling and progressing toward suicide as an outcome. It also puts emphasis on early intervention as well as awareness not only in schools but amongst peers and family members. These details will be a useful addition to my research for my grant proposal.

Joe, S., & Bryant, H. (2007). Evidence-Based Suicide Prevention Screening in Schools. Children & Schools, 29(4), 219-227. doi:10.1093/cs/29.4.219

This article by Joe and Bryant suggests that there are three categories of suicide prevention program in schools including curriculum programs, in-service trainings, and preventive screenings; this article specifically focuses on suicide screening programs and their effectiveness. There were many implications of the study including troubles implementing the program with staff willingness, diversity considerations, and false positive results. The authors found that after conducting the study, there were decreased levels of suicide ideation, but the results were insignificant. It was concluded that these suicide prevention screenings should not be implemented unless follow-up care and referral resources are available within the community and ethical considerations are addressed. The authors ended by implying that more research needs to be done for this strategy for social workers to develop and implement suicide prevention screenings as an effective method to reduce suicide rates in youths.

The article from 2007 is from a credible and timely source for reviewing an evidence-based program. Throughout the article, the Joe and Bryant discuss implications of the study and even briefly compare this method of prevention to others, avoiding bias yet focus on the screening method. I can use this during my grant proposal writing by mentioning that this method did show decreased levels of suicide ideation, but did not result in significant outcomes. Furthermore, the study had so many implications, and though they were noted, the program seemed straining on the teachers, social workers and students to implement. Lastly, it was not advised to implement into schools if there are not community resources to support those being screened; therefore, this program relies too much on outside resources rather than keeping prevention localized in schools, which is the target population for our grant topic.

Poduska, J. M., & Kurki, A. (2014). Guided by theory, informed by practice. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 22(2), 83-94. doi:10.1177/1063426614522692

In their journal article, Poduska and Kurki analyze the evidence-based program Good Behavior Game in the Houston ISD. The authors give an overview of the program and how it’s played in the classroom as well as the direct effects of using this evidence-based program in the elementary settings. They also discuss how the program is supported through teachers and coaches, the contextual effect on implementation, and how the program is monitored over time. Some of the notable results mentioned by Poduska and Kurki were a decrease in aggressiveness, disruptive behaviors, rates of conduct disorder diagnoses, violence, drug use, suicidal ideation, and even an increase in productivity in students. Another finding from the article was that the results not only aided youth, but they also were persistent into adulthood.

Both Poduska and Kurki were aware of the limitations of the study. The authors produced their literature truthfully and ethically to better help the understanding of the evidence-based program: Good Behavior Game. They gave acknowledgements to the Houston School District and the surrounding community who helped vitally with the gathering of critical information to produce their literature. In addition, the journal article was written in 2014 and therefore is timely. This journal will be helpful in my grant proposal because it provides a very descriptive overview of how the program works along with challenges that teachers and coaches faced while implementing the program. Furthermore, the journal provides concrete evidence of the effectiveness of the program that will be reviewed in my group’s grant proposal. Overall the authors did a great job of putting the program into context within the classroom and real world.

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