According to a Jan. 12 Medical News Today article, researchers have discovered that much work remains in the effort to educate both parents and teens about warning signs that might indicate a young person is considering suicide:
In focus groups in Chicago and Kansas City, both teenagers and their parents correctly identified many of the known risk factors for suicide, including mental illness, alcohol and substance abuse, relational or social loss, and hopelessness.
However, study authors said it was concerning that some of the parents reported regular drug and alcohol use as being a normal part of adolescent development, rather than problem behavior.
Parents and teens suggested guns should be removed if an adolescent is known to be suicidal, but parents acknowledged they may not be able to identify a suicidal teen. Parents and teens didn't think suicide was a problem in their communities.
All groups were interested in learning how to identify and intervene with a suicidal adolescent.
Study authors conclude pediatricians should regularly screen all adolescents in their offices and encourage families to be open to discussing depression and suicide.
Labels: suicide, prevention, warning_signs
Posted By: Aspen/CRC