Citation

Gould MS, Lake AM, Kleinman M, Galfalvy H, Chowdhury S, Madnick A. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018; 15(3): e15030455.

Affiliation

Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, The New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 72, New York, NY 10032, USA. alison.madnick@nyspi.columbia.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph15030455

PMID

29509702

Abstract

Adolescents' exposure to a peer's suicide has been found to be associated with, as well as to predict, suicidal ideation and behavior. Although postvention efforts tend to be school-based, little is known about the impact of a schoolmate's suicide on the school's student population overall. The present study seeks to determine whether there is excess psychological morbidity among students in a school where a schoolmate has died by suicide, and whether students' attitudes about coping and help-seeking strategies are more or less problematic in such schools. Students in twelve high schools in Suffolk and Westchester counties in New York State-2865 students at six schools where a student had died by suicide within the past six months, and 2419 students at six schools where no suicide had occurred within the current students' tenure-completed an assessment of their suicidal ideation and behavior, depressive symptoms, coping and help-seeking attitudes, stressful life events, and friendship with suicide decedent (if applicable). No excess morbidity (i.e., serious suicidal ideation/behavior and depression) was evident among the general student population after a schoolmate's death by suicide; however, the risk of serious suicidal ideation/behavior was elevated among students at exposed schools who had concomitant negative life events. There was a significant relationship between friendship with the decedent and morbidity, in that students who were friends, but not close friends, of the decedents had the greatest odds of serious suicidal ideation/behavior. Overall, students in exposed schools had more adaptive attitudes toward help-seeking; but this was not true of the decedents' friends or students with concomitant negative life events. The implications of the findings for postvention strategies are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

exposure; friendship; help-seeking attitudes; maladaptive coping attitudes; negative life events; peers; suicide