Raeburn, Paul, “Danger Signs: Can mental-health checkups in schools combat teenage suicide?” New York Times Magazine, 4Dec05, pp. 16, 28.

 

Shea, Kathlene Brady and Sandy Bauers, “Pennsylvania deaths reflect teens’ secrets, parents ignorance,” The Boston Globe, 4Dec05, p.A35.

 

OVERVIEW

 

According to a study by James Garbarino, professor at Cornell University and head of its Family Development Center, one third of female students surveyed had been so depressed in high school they had considered suicide. Yet, 80% of these girls said their parents had no idea about it. (cited by Shea and Bauers above)

 

Raeburn’s article is primarily about TeenScreen, preventive survey that is saving lives. It was developed by David Shaffer, a psychiatrist who became disturbed by the rising rates of teen suicide in the U.S.

 

After declining for decades, the rate started climbing in the late 1950s, especially for boys. By the 1980s, it had tripled—to 11.3 per 100,000 teenagers 15-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In more recent surveys, the CDC has found that about 8 percent of high-school students answer yes when asked if they have attempted suicide in the past year. About 1,500 succeed annually, making suicide the third-leading cause of death among teenagers after accidents and homicides.

 

The writer summarizes some of the theories advanced to explain teenage suicide: divorce, working mothers, Dungeons and Dragons, rock music, discrimination against gay teens, etc. Although some experts saw teen suicide as a rather random act about which little could be done, Shaffer studied the records of 140 teen suicides in the New York City area during the 1980s. He found three characteristics, at least one of which were exhibited in all these cases:

 

1.        depression,

2.        alcohol abuse,

3.        aggression, beating someone up or punching walls.

 

Shaffer went on to develop a 10-minute questionnaire for 9^th and 10^th graders. Simple questions asked:

 

1.        Have you been depressed?

2.        Have you ever tried to kill yourself?

3.        Do you have a problem with alcohol or drugs?

 

A strong yes to any of the above would prompt further questions. What Shaffer found was that such a questionnaire elicited more information from young teens than a face-to-face interview. In 2001, Shaffer offered his TeenScreen free to the public. By word of mouth alone and no marketing, it has spread to 461 sites in 43 states. In 2003 it was given to 14,000 students. The number rose to 122,000 in 2005.

 

A presidential New Freedom Commission on Mental Health report in 2003 offered strong praise for TeenScreen as “a model for early intervention.”

 

TeenScreen is not without its critics. Conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly say it “challenges the fundamental right of parents to decide what medical treatment is appropriate for their children.” Others worry that such screening will flood treatment centers and perhaps lead to over-medication of teenagers. These concerns certainly need to be taken seriously. Supporters of TeenScreen say, “We have nothing to do with providing recommendations for treatment. What parents choose to do is entirely up to them.” Still others worry that TeenScreen may concentrate resources on this one group of youth and detract attention from those with others forms of mental illness.

 

The good news is that, for the first time since WWII, teen suicide rates are declining. Shaffer offers a couple of possible explanations for this:  increased use of anti-depressants and the raising the national drinking age to 21. He remains concerned for the “many kids out there, lost in a private world of pain and emotional anguish. These are kids who are solitary, who haven’t spoken to anyone. And if the schools don’t try to find them, it’s not clear who will.” 

 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

 

1.        What most impresses or troubles you about this article?

2.        How do you explain the rise, and then recent slight decline, of teenage suicides over the past half-century?

3.        Do you lean toward parental or school solutions to teen depression and suicide, or to a both-and approach?

4.        What other organizations might successfully intervene in the lives of troubled teens?

5.        How would you intervene in the life of a young troubled friend?

6.        What is your recommendation to society about this ill?

 

IMPLICATIONS

 

1.        Around the world, especially in developed countries like Australia, New Zealand, Korea, the Scandinavian and other countries, suicide is one of the leading causes of youthful deaths. This tragic and needless waste must be stopped or critically lowered.

2.        As no one system is to blame for this phenomenon, neither can any one system correct it. It is a public health issue of high importance.