Prevention and Intervention
Recognition of risk factors and the cumulative affects of stress are essential in the early diagnosis and prevention of suicide. The following diagram outlines the process leading to either suicide or prevention. Figure 2. How does suicide occur? From: “Youth suicide: Epidemiology and prevention strategies” by M.S. Gould, 2012, Texas Suicide Prevention Symposium, p. 7
Prevention approaches for adolescent suicide have traditionally been conducted in three areas: in school, in the community, and within healthcare systems. In schools, prevention programs generally fall into categories such as suicide awareness programs for students, skills training, screening, and gatekeeper (school officials) training. Several …show more content…
According to the AFSP, in the U.S., the most common method of suicide is firearms, used in 51% of all suicides. “Currently, firearms are involved in 56% of male suicides and 30% of female suicides. Among U.S. women, the most common suicide method involves poisonous substances, especially overdoses of medications. Poisoning accounts for 37% of female suicides, compared to only 12% of male suicides. Hanging or other means of suffocation are used in about 25% of both male and female suicides” ("AFSP research findings," 2014, section 8). Preventing suicide by limiting access to lethal means varies by geographic location. For example, according to the data derived from the World Health Organization (WHO), in Asian and Latin American countries, poisoning by pesticide is recurrent; suicide by drugs is frequent in both Nordic countries and the United Kingdom. In Eastern Europe, hanging is common and in Hong Kong, jumping from a high place is the preferred method (Sarchiapone, Mandelli, Iosue, Andrisano, & Roy, 2011, section 3.1). Despite the growing evidence that restricting lethal means of suicide can lead to a reduction in suicides, restricting the means may not automatically be accepted. For example, although gun use is a prominent method of suicides among males, gun-restricting legislation an extremely contentious issue in the …show more content…
As mentioned earlier, there is evidence that suicides may spread due to a contagion, predominately related to the manner in which the media cover a suicide. The AFSP provides training and a resource guide for the media that outlines recommendations on reporting that can assist in reducing the spread of the contagion ("Reporting," 2014, p. 1). Implementation of reporting guidelines has shown positive results. For example, in Austria, one of the areas focused on by the media was subway suicide. “After implementing media guidelines, subway suicides decreased by 75%. After the first year of implementation, suicide rates in general decreased by 7% and by 20% in the four years that followed” (Gould et al., 2003, p.
Recognition of risk factors and the cumulative affects of stress are essential in the early diagnosis and prevention of suicide. The following diagram outlines the process leading to either suicide or prevention. Figure 2. How does suicide occur? From: “Youth suicide: Epidemiology and prevention strategies” by M.S. Gould, 2012, Texas Suicide Prevention Symposium, p. 7
Prevention approaches for adolescent suicide have traditionally been conducted in three areas: in school, in the community, and within healthcare systems. In schools, prevention programs generally fall into categories such as suicide awareness programs for students, skills training, screening, and gatekeeper (school officials) training. Several …show more content…
According to the AFSP, in the U.S., the most common method of suicide is firearms, used in 51% of all suicides. “Currently, firearms are involved in 56% of male suicides and 30% of female suicides. Among U.S. women, the most common suicide method involves poisonous substances, especially overdoses of medications. Poisoning accounts for 37% of female suicides, compared to only 12% of male suicides. Hanging or other means of suffocation are used in about 25% of both male and female suicides” ("AFSP research findings," 2014, section 8). Preventing suicide by limiting access to lethal means varies by geographic location. For example, according to the data derived from the World Health Organization (WHO), in Asian and Latin American countries, poisoning by pesticide is recurrent; suicide by drugs is frequent in both Nordic countries and the United Kingdom. In Eastern Europe, hanging is common and in Hong Kong, jumping from a high place is the preferred method (Sarchiapone, Mandelli, Iosue, Andrisano, & Roy, 2011, section 3.1). Despite the growing evidence that restricting lethal means of suicide can lead to a reduction in suicides, restricting the means may not automatically be accepted. For example, although gun use is a prominent method of suicides among males, gun-restricting legislation an extremely contentious issue in the …show more content…
As mentioned earlier, there is evidence that suicides may spread due to a contagion, predominately related to the manner in which the media cover a suicide. The AFSP provides training and a resource guide for the media that outlines recommendations on reporting that can assist in reducing the spread of the contagion ("Reporting," 2014, p. 1). Implementation of reporting guidelines has shown positive results. For example, in Austria, one of the areas focused on by the media was subway suicide. “After implementing media guidelines, subway suicides decreased by 75%. After the first year of implementation, suicide rates in general decreased by 7% and by 20% in the four years that followed” (Gould et al., 2003, p.