An empirically supported program to prevent suicide in a college student population

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Higher Education Policy
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Student suicide is a critical issue in higher education.
• The University of Illinois established a formal suicide prevention program in 1984.
• Previous suicide rates at the university were a concern.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a mandatory student suicide prevention program.
• To assess the impact of the program on suicide rates at the University of Illinois.
• To analyze suicide incident reports over a 21-year period.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a policy requiring mandatory professional assessment for students threatening or attempting suicide.
• Monitoring of suicide incidents and rates over 21 years.
• Comparison of suicide rates before and after program implementation, and against national and peer institution rates.

Main Results:

• A 45.3% reduction in the student suicide rate was observed over 21 years.
• The suicide rate decreased from 6.91 to 3.78 per 100,000 enrolled students.
• This reduction was achieved despite stable national and Big Ten peer institution suicide rates.

Conclusions:

• Mandatory assessment policies can effectively reduce student suicide rates in universities.
• The University of Illinois program demonstrates a successful model for higher education suicide prevention.
• The findings have significant implications for developing and implementing similar programs at other institutions.