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Youth Suicide Prevention: A Survey of Public School Superintendents' Acceptability of School‐Based Programs
Author(s) -
Scherff Andrew R.,
Eckert Tanya L.,
Miller David N.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1521/suli.35.2.154.62874
Subject(s) - curriculum , directory , medical education , suicide prevention , psychology , service (business) , poison control , medicine , pedagogy , medical emergency , computer science , economy , economics , operating system
From a random sample of members of the 2000–2001 membership directory of the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), public school administrators' acceptability ratings of three school‐based programs for the prevention of adolescent suicide were examined. A total of 210 (46%) respondents examined a description of a suicide prevention program and completed a measure designed to evaluate the acceptability of suicide prevention programs. Three suicide prevention programs were evaluated for their acceptability, and included: (a) school‐wide curriculum‐based programs presented to students; (b) in‐service presentations to school staff; and (c) self‐report screening programs for students. The results indicated that superintendents rated the staff in‐service training and curriculum‐based programs as significantly more acceptable than the school‐wide screening program. In addition, the school‐wide screening program was rated as significantly more intrusive by school psychologists than the staff in‐service training or curriculum‐based prevention programs. Limitations of the study and future research directions are discussed.