Suicide
Issues with teens, sexual abuse
victims and the elderly
Signs of Suicide (SOS)
• Teaches teens that depression is a
treatable illness
• Empowers them to respond to potential
suicide by using the ACT Technique
ACT Technique
• ACKNOWLEDGE the signs of suicide
• Respond with CARE
• TELL a responsible adult
Acknowledge
• Do take it seriously
• 70% of all people who commit suicide give
some warning of their intentions
• Do be willing to listen
Care
• Do voice your concern
• Take the initiative to ask what is troubling
them.
• Attempt to overcome any reluctance on
their part to talk about it
Treatment
• Do get profession help immediately
• Call 1-800-273-TALK to find resources in
your area
• Bring your friend to local emergency room
or community mental center
• Your friend will be more likely to seek help
if you accompany them
What NOT to do
• Don’t try to cheer the person up or tell
them to “snap out of it”
• Don’t assume the situation will take care of
itself
• Don’t be sworn to secrecy
• Don’t argue or debate moral issues
• Don’t risk your personal safety. Just leave
and then call the police
SOS
• Only school based program that has
shown a reduction in suicide attempts in
randomized study
• Has documented increases in helpseeking
According to SOS
• 17% of students have thought about
suicide
• 11% of have attempted suicide
• 5% had attempted suicide in the past year
SOS College Student Program
• The program is implemented by existing
college personnel
• 26% of college students who scored
positive for depression had though or
wanted to commit suicide
• 27% of college students who screened
positive for bipolar disorder had thought
about or wanted to commit suicide
SOS Community Suicide
Prevention Program
• Designed for implementation by
community-based organizations, hospitals
or health centers
• 31% of adults who scored positive for
depression had thought about or wanted
to commit suicide
• 32% of adults who scored positive for
bipolar disorder had thought about or
wanted to commit suicide
Older Adults
• 11% of those 65 and older thought about
or wanted to commit suicide
• “Feel Good Bingo” teaches older adults
about the signs, symptoms and treatment
options for depression and anxiety
• It is designed to be used in assisted living
facilities, senior housing and community
centers
National Mental Health Screening
Day- October 6th
• First and largest nationwide, communitybased mental health screening program
• Provides screening for:
Depression
Bipolar Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
PTSD
Two Bakersfield locations
• Beale Memorial Library – Auditorium
on Truxtun Avenue
• Kern County Public Health Building
on Mt. Vernon, next to KMC
World Suicide Prevention Day
• September 10th
• “Prevention of suicide is everybody’s
business.”
• Collaboration of International Association
for Suicide Prevention and World Health
Organization (WHO)
• Approximately one million lives are lost
annually due to suicide
• Suicide is one of the leading causes of
death worldwide, especially in younger
people
• Suicide profoundly affects individuals,
families, workplaces, neighborhoods, and
societies
• More lives are lost to suicide than in all
wars and homicides worldwide every year
Warning Signs
• Key Messages
Someone threatening to hurt or kill
themselves, or talking of wanting to hurt or
kill themselves
Someone looking for ways to kill
themselves by seeking access to
firearms, pills or other means
Warning Signs
• Exhibits one of the following:
• Hopelessness
• Rage, uncontrolled anger, seeking
revenge
• Acting reckless or engaging in risky
activities, seemingly without thinking
• Feeling trapped – like there is no way out
• Increasing alcohol or drug use
Warning Signs
• Withdrawing from friends, family and
society
• Anxiety, agitation, unable to sleep or
sleeping all the time
• Dramatic mood changes
• No reason for living; no sense of purpose
in life
Sexual Assault Victimization and
Suicidal Behavior
• Based on research by Sarah Ullman, et
al., (2004)
• It is well established that women attempt
suicide more than men
• Females made three suicide attempts for
each attempt made by a male
• 1 in 10 adolescent girls are estimated to
attempt suicide in their lifetime
• Compared with 1 in 25 adolescent boys
• 5% of U.S. adults made a lifetime suicide
attempt
• Two-thirds of which were female
History of sexual victimization
• 20-30% of women have been sexually
abused in childhood and/or adulthood
• Sexual revictimization is also common with
one third of child sexual abuse
• Women with a history of sexual
victimization have also reported:
PTSD
Depression
Sexual problems
Physical health problems
Increased healthcare utilization
• Adults reporting sexual and/or physical
abuse in childhood report more:
Self harm
Suicidal ideation
Suicidal behavior
Than those without a childhood victimization
history.
• The link of childhood trauma and adult
self-harm or suicide is strongest when
abuse was:
– Of long duration
– By known perpetrators
– Involved force and/or penetration
Suicidal behavior may be at higher
risk if:
• Younger
• Less educated
• Unemployed
• From certain ethnic minority groups
(Latina)
Self Harm
• Women who had been sexually abused as
children reported more self-harm
• Especially if they had experienced more
intrusive and frequent abuse
Suicide & Lesbian, Gay and
Bisexuals
• Compared with their heterosexual peers,
lesbians, gays and bisexuals youths have
higher rates of suicidal ideation and
attempted suicide
• It is possible that risk markers for suicidal
behavior differs between LGB and nonLGB individuals
• If differences are true, than suicidal
interventions that generically target risk
markers without regard to sexual
orientation may be ineffective
Non-LGB populations
• Problem drinking
• Problem drug use
• Depression
Were all found to be associated with
elevated risk for suicidal ideation and
suicide attempts
LGB populations
• Problem drinking and depression
Were found to be associated with elevated
risk for suicidal ideation
LGB Populations
• Problem drinking, drug use and
depression were NOT associated with
increased risk for suicide attempts
Conclusion
• LGB adolescents and young adults may
need a different treatment focus
• And alternate points of entry to health
services