Responding to Adolescent Suicide
Author | : Barry D. Garfinkel |
Publisher | : Phi Delta Kappa International Incorporated |
Total Pages | : 29 |
Release | : 1988 |
Genre | : Educational counseling |
ISBN | : 9780873674386 |
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This publication is designed to help educators deal with the problems that arise after an adolescent's suicide. It recommends that teachers should be able to detect differences in students' responses to emotional problems. Following a preface and a brief review of the extent of the problem, the first chapter discusses which adolescents are vulnerable to suicide, noting that adolescent suicide is rarely precipitated by a single factor, but usually is a combination of factors. Risk factors described include depression; loss; moving; lack of attention from working parents; disappointments; substance abuse; chronic illness and handicaps; impulsivity; negative life events; and physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. The second chapter discusses dealing with the school situation after a suicide, describing the bereavement and recovery stages of denial, anger, acceptance, and resolution. A 10-step crisis management plan for suicide and how to put it into action is discussed in the third chapter. Establishing a school crisis team for dealing not only with suicides but also with other crises, such as accidents, drug overdoses, tornadoes, earthquakes, bomb threats, even riots, is discussed in the fourth chapter. Three levels of a school crisis team are presented: individual building, central office, and community support groups. Finally, community education in suicide prevention for two key audiences, parents and the media, is discussed. The appendix includes checklists for at-risk adolescents, symptoms of suicidal youth, and suicide threat. A bibliography is included. (ABL)