Dear Safe Schools Coalition Members and Friends:
The Suicide Prevention Resource Center has released Suicide and Bullying Issue Brief examining the relationship between suicide and bullying among children and adolescents, with Special Attention to LGBT Youth
Legitimate source? Yes. The SPRC is supported by a grant (1 U79 SM059945-01) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
SPRC’s Suicide and Bullying Issue Brief is a review and analysis of the literature. It examines the relationship between suicide and bullying among children and adolescents, with special attention to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. It also
explores strategies for preventing these problems. This short publication can be downloaded at
http://www.sprc.org/library/Suicide_Bullying_Issue_Brief.pdf
Bullying and Suicide--Klomek, A. B., Kleinman, M., Altschuler, E., Marrocco, F., Amakawa, L., & Gould, M. S. (2011). High school bullying as a risk for later depression and suicidality. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, 41(5), 501-516.
SOURCE: Suicide Prevention Resource Center’s The Weekly Spark, October 21, 2011
Excerpted from the brief, re: LGBT youth:
~ LGBT youth attempt suicide at a rate 2–4 times higher than that of their heterosexual peers.
~ A recent review of the research identified 19 studies linking suicidal behavior in lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents to bullying at school, especially among young people with “cross-gender appearance, traits, or behaviors”.
~ LGBT youth experience more bullying (including physical violence and injury) at school than their heterosexual peers.
~ A review of the research found that the relationship between bullying and suicide risk was stronger for LGB youth than for heterosexual youth.
Excerpted from the report, re: prevention:
Comprehensive school-based prevention programs can help prevent suicidal behavior. Research and experience suggest that school-based suicide prevention programs should not focus narrowly on student education and life skills training but also include the
following:
• Activities to identify young people at risk of suicide (such as gatekeeper training and screening)
• Referrals to mental health services
The evidence for the effectiveness of school-based bullying prevention programs is mixed.
Recommendations:
The following action steps may help create synergy in addressing both suicide and bullying.
• Start prevention early. Bullying begins at an age before many of the warning signs of suicide are evident. Intervening in bullying among younger children, and assessing both bullies and victims
of bullying for risk factors associated with suicide, may have significant benefits as children enter the developmental stage when suicide risk begins to rise.
• Keep up with technology. Bullying often takes place in areas hidden from adult supervision. Cyberspace has become such an area. At the same time, young people may also use social media and
new technologies to express suicidal thoughts that they are unwilling to share with their parents and other adults. Both bullying prevention programs and suicide prevention programs need to learn how to navigate in this new world.
• Pay special attention to the needs of LGBT youth and young people who do not conform to gender expectations. These youth are at increased risk for both bullying victimization and suicidal
behavior. It is essential to respond to the needs of these young people, especially the need for an environment in which they feel safe, not just from physical harm, but from intolerance and assaults upon their emotional well-being.
• Use a comprehensive approach. Reducing the risk of bullying and suicide requires interventions that focus on young people (e.g., mental health services for youth suffering from depression)
as well as the environment (especially the school and family environments) in which they live.
qqqqqqqqqq
Or mail this
form with your check made to "Safe Schools Coalition":
Safe Schools Coalition
c/o Rosehedge
1401 East Jefferson Street, Suite 401
Seattle, WA 98122
- - - - - - - - - -
About this Listserv
To SUBSCRIBE to the Safe Schools Coalition's IMPORTANTNEWS List, which averages 2 messages/week including only: urgent messages, action items, SSC meeting minutes
To SUBSCRIBE to the Safe Schools Coalition's NEWS List, which averages 2 messages/day including THOSE SAME THINGS plus: events (conferences, courses, rallies, TV specials, activism opportunities)
, resources (books, DVDs, scholarships, curricula, and more), jobs and volunteer and internship opportunities, news digests, opinion digests
To UNSUBSCRIBE or
To SWITCH LISTS (from NEWS to IMPORTANT NEWS or vice versa) or
To CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS, if you are already a subscriber,
***************************************
The Safe Schools Coalition is a public-private partnership of 60+ organizations (government agencies, schools, community agencies, churches, youth/student groups, gay/lesbian groups, human rights groups) and 100+ individuals working to help schools
become safe places where every family can belong, where every educator can teach, and where every child can learn, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Safe Schools' website: http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org
Got a problem at school with anti-gay harassment?
In Washington State:
1-877-SAFE-SAFE (1-877-723-3723) 24 hours a day - the phone line is answered at the Sexual Assault Hotline and they will have a Safe Schools Coalition Intervention Specialist volunteer get back to you within 24 hours. Or contact us by email (click here:
Intervention)
http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/contact/?id=10and we will respond within 24 hours.
For non-emergencies: 206-451-SAFE (7233).
Or email us:
Co-Chairs:
Beth Reis, Public Health - Seattle & King County, 206-296-4970
Mo Lewis, King County Sexual Assault Resource Center
Listserv Managers:
Beth Reis for
Action Items,
Resource messages (books, films, curricula, etc.),
Professional Journal messages and
Help Needed
by Reporters/Authors, Researchers, and Member Organizations
Ethan Blustein for
Jobs, Internships, and
Volunteer Opportunity messages
Julie Parmenter for Opinion (blogs, editorials, letters to the editor) messages
Gabi Clayton for
Legislative/Elective messages and
Fundraising* messages
* Note: Fundraising messages are only sent for member organizations.
Send Events to be Posted on the Safe Schools Coalition Calendar!
Buy cool Safe Schools T-Shirts & Gear
This message has been distributed as a free, non-profit informational service, to members of the Coalition and others who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. Please do not publish
or post in a public place on the Internet, copyrighted material without attribution. Forwarding of this material should not necessarily be construed as an endorsement of the content.