Sections
Suicide | Aggressive/disruptive behavior | Substance use | Early/unprotected sexual activity | Depression | Multiple risk factors
Excerpt
According to a Cochrane Library review of school-based suicide
prevention curricula targeted at general populations of students
(Guo and Harstall 2002), there is insufficient evidence
to either support or refute these programs. A subsequent review
(Gould et al. 2003) went beyond curricula to examine
the effects of other approaches to suicide prevention and intervention.
The authors concluded that screening for suicidality is fraught
with problems related to low specificity of the screening instrument,
poor acceptability among school administrators, and paucity of referral
sites; gatekeeper training is effective in improving skills among
school personnel and is highly acceptable to administrators but
has not been shown to prevent suicide; peer helpers have not been
shown to be either efficacious or safe; and postvention is promising
but underinvestigated.