Suicide prevention: a classroom presentation to adolescents

The increase in attention given to adolescent suicide has led to a proliferation of suicide prevention programs in schools throughout the United States. Concern is mounting over the benefits of these programs. The author, with the same concern about his own suicide prevention program, subjects his program to a statistical analysis of effectiveness. Results show that a disturbingly high proportion of adolescents had undesirable attitudes about suicide in the baseline period. The program appears to have caused a significant shift from undesirable to desirable attitudinal responses in six of eight targeted areas. In addition, the results seem to dispel a commonly held belief that associating mental illness with suicide will diminish self-disclosure.