Announcements
DHHS launches new adolescent health website The Office of Adolescent Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched a new website on adolescent health issues, including physical, mental and reproductive health, substance abuse and healthy relationships.
TeenScreen webinar, Teens & Mental Health: How to Help Families, Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 1:00- 2:00 p.m. ET Darcy Gruttadaro, Director of the Child and Adolescent Action Center for the National Alliance on Mental Illness and David Shern, President and CEO of Mental Health America will highlight what primary care providers can do to facilitate a dialogue with parents about their teen's mental health.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline announces two open positions The Lifeline, a national network of over 150 crisis call centers, is recruiting for two positions. The Online Crisis Services Coordinator will lead program development and recruitment efforts and assist Lifeline centers to become effective providers of online and SMS-based crisis intervention services. The Follow-Up Coordinator will be responsible for promoting innovative practices that would provide additional support to individuals at risk of suicide, with a specific focus on the provision of follow-up services for high-risk callers and hospital/ED discharges.
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IOM awards 2011 Sarnat Prize to William E. Bunney and Ellen Frank
The Institute of Medicine has awarded the 2011 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health to two researchers. The prize was awarded in recognition of their complementary achievements in enhancing treatment and understanding of mood disorders.
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Tips & HintsAccessing the Weekly Spark online Visit the SPRC website to view full news and research details
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Research
Bullying and Suicide The authors of a study on the long-term effects of bullying recommend that questions about bullying be included in suicide screening protocols. This recommendation is based on their findings that high school students who were frequently bullied, bullied others, or both, and who also experienced suicidal ideation, suicidal behavior, depression, or substance abuse were more likely to be functionally impaired, depressed, or suicidal at the end of a four-year follow-up period than students who were frequently involved in bullying, but did not experience any of the other risk factors. Read more This research summary is based on information in: 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.
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National News
[University of Arizona] UA News Researchers at New York University and the University of Arizona (UA) will study the factors that may influence suicide risk for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth over a three-year period. The $2.8 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health will also focus on interventions to lower the risk of suicide among LGBT teenagers and youth in their early 20s. The research will also study several psychological factors associated with suicide. These include thwarted belongingness (e.g., being excluded from family events) and perceived burdensomeness (i.e., the belief that they are making things worse for others). The researchers hope to document how two factors related to suicide are uniquely related to LGBT youths' developmental milestones (i.e., identity recognition and disclosure): risk, which includes threats, verbal and physical abuse; and resilience, which includes supportive environments, coping mechanisms and personality characteristics. "Our emphasis will be comparing LGBT youth who do and do not experience any suicidal behaviors, which can include suicidal thoughts, threats and even attempts," said UA researcher Stephen Russell, the study's co-investigator.
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State and Tribal News
Montana The West Yellowstone News Several restaurants participated in West Yellowstone's inaugural Dine Out for Mental Health last week. Twenty-five percent of the sales from participating eateries will be used to help fund mental health and substance abuse services in West Yellowstone through Community West Outreach (CWO), a local all-volunteer organization. Dine Out for Mental Health was the brainchild of Mike Gavagan, a local police officer and CWO board member. "We hope to use these funds to start programs that will make us competitive when applying for federal grants," Gavagan said. Mental health concerns range from anxiety to substance abuse, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regards depression as the leading cause of poor mental health, affecting an estimated 26 percent of adults in the United States.
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International News
The Sydney Morning Herald Jenny Allen, chief executive of nonprofit mental health support organization Youth Focus, hopes to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of mental illness by combining education about mental health issues with regular school subjects like physical education, science and math. The difference between teenagers' typical behavior and deeper mental health issues could become easier to identify with such additions to the high school curriculum, say those who support the approach. Suicide is the leading cause of death in Western Australia for those between 15 and 19 years of age. This curriculum change proposal follows an earlier announcement by the State Government in which Premier Colin Barnett pledged $13 million to suicide prevention within the new 10-year strategy for mental health. |
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