University of Southern Florida 2012 Youth Suicide Prevention School-Based Guide    

The Youth Suicide Prevention School-Based Guide is designed to provide accurate, user-friendly information. The Guide is not a program but a tool that provides a framework for schools to assess their existing or proposed suicide prevention efforts (through a series of checklists) and provides resources and information that school administrators can use to enhance or add to their existing program. First, checklists can be completed to help evaluate the adequacy of the schools' suicide prevention programs. Second, information is offered in a series of issue briefs corresponding to a specific checklist. Each brief offers a rationale for the importance of the specific topic together with a brief overview of the key points. The briefs also offer specific strategies that have proven to work in reducing the incidence of suicide, with references that schools may then explore in greater detail. A resource section with helpful links is also included. The Guide provides information to schools to assist them in the development of a framework to work in partnership with community resources and families.  Download parts or complete guide, free.

Mindset List for the Class of 2016   

Each August since 1998, Beloit College [in Beloit, WI] has released the Beloit College Mindset List, providing a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall. The creation of Beloit's former Public Affairs Director Ron Nief and Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride, authors of The Mindset Lists of American History: From Typewriters to Text Messages, What Ten Generations of Americans Think Is Normal (John Wiley and Sons), it was originally created as a reminder to faculty to be aware of dated references. It quickly became an internationally monitored catalog of the changing worldview of each new college generation. . .

This year's entering college class of 2016 was born into cyberspace and they have therefore measured their output in the fundamental particles of life: bits, bytes, and bauds. They have come to political consciousness during a time of increasing doubts about America's future, and are entering college bombarded by questions about jobs and the value of a college degree. They have never needed an actual airline "ticket," a set of bound encyclopedias, or Romper Room. Members of this year's freshman class, most of them born in 1994, are probably the most tribal generation in history and they despise being separated from contact with friends. They prefer to watch television everywhere except on a television, have seen a woman lead the U.S. State Department for most of their lives, and can carry school books--those that are not on their e-Readers--in backpacks that roll.  Read more and review the list.

The Social Context for Creating Safe Schools for Students 

Public education is vital in working with students and their families to promote the total development of the child-intellectually, socially, and physically (NASW, 2000). The traditional focus of our nation's public school system has been on education, learning, and promoting "academic" success. While these areas should and must remain a top priority, schools that do not appreciate or address the needs of the "whole" student, and that fail to integrate the family and community will repeatedly fall short in meeting their students' academic and social-emotional needs. However, just as students are presented with problems and new challenges, so are schools in how they choose to intervene and attempt to prevent school-based violence-how they choose to create safe schools for students. The Office of the Surgeon General in its study on youth violence, found that "in schools, interventions that target the social context appear to be more effective, on average, than those [interventions] that attempt to change individual attitudes, skills, and risk behaviors" (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2001, p. xiii).  Full article.

The children of the Southwest (defined here as consisting of persons less than 18 years of age living in the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah) represent a critical component of the child population of the United States. In fact, the southwestern states have disproportionately contributed to both the growth in the total and child populations for more than 40 years... In this work we describe the child population in the Southwest in terms of both its demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. We begin by discussing selected literature on America's children, particularly its minority children (which form a majority of the growth in the child population today). This literature examines the socioeconomic characteristics of the current generation of children including the human capital of the families with children. We then examine the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of children of the Southwest. We end our discussion by discussing the challenges and the potential contributions to the regions' and Nation's long-term socioeconomic growth and development potential represented by the children of the Southwest.  Report. 

Girls with ADHD At Risk for Self-Injury, Suicide Attempts As Young Adults    

Girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are significantly more likely to attempt suicide or injure themselves as young adults than girls who do not have ADHD, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

Young women diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as girls, particularly the type with early signs of impulsivity, were three to four times more likely to attempt suicide and two to three times more likely to report injuring themselves than comparable young women in a control group, according to the findings, published online in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.  Read more.  

What's the Harm In Asking About Suicidal Ideation?