Council for Exceptional Children, Reston, Va.; ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children, Reston, Va
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 316 963 EC 221 313 AUTHOR Guetzloe, Eleanor C. TITLE Youth Suicide: What the Educator Should Know. A Special Educator's Perspective. INSTITUTION Council for Exceptional Children, Reston, Va.; ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children, Reston, Va. SPONS AGENCY Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC. REPORT NO ISBN-0-86586-188-9 PUB DATE 89 CONTRACT RI88062007 NOTE 216p. AVAILABLE FROMThe Council for Exceptional Children, Publication Sales, 1920 Association Drive, Reston, VA 22091-1589 ($18.50, $14.80 members; Stock No. 331). PUB TYPE Books (010) -- Guides - Non-Classroom Use (055) -- Information Analyses - ERIC Information Analysis Products (071) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC09 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Behavior Disorders; Elementary Secondary Education; *Intervention; Mental Health; Prevention; *School Counseling; *Suicide ABSTRACT This book is intended to aid educators in understanding the phenomenon of suicidal behavior among youth and in developing programs for intervention within the school setting. The first section, aimed toward an understanding of the phenomenon, covers risk factors, history, current trends, research, the problem of contagion, three levels of prevention in the public health context, and other relevant issues. The second section, focusing on prevention through the schools, discusses assessment of suicide potential, crisis intervention in the school, working with parents, counseling guidelines, procedures for the aftermath of a suicide, and enhancing emotional health in the schools. (PB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** coz to I i 1 CA I I i 1 I . I CIO rot I II I CY5 Fir4 I.Y. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC, his document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it O Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocu- ment do not necessarily representofficial OERI pOsition or policy el A Special Educator's Perspective YOUTH SUICIDE: WHAT THE EDUCATOR SHOULD KNOW A Special lEducator's Perspective YOUTH SUICIDE: WHAT THE EDUCATOR SHOULD KNOW Eleanor C. Guetzloe University of South Florida at St. Petersburg Foreword by Frank H. Wood A Product of the ERIC Clearinghouseon Handicapped and Gifted Children Published by The Council for Exceptional Children Library of Congress Catalogingin-Publication Data Guetzloe, Eleanor C. Youth suicide, "A product of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children." Bibliography: p. 1.YouthUnited StatesSuicidal behavior. 2.SuicideUnited States Prevention.I. ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children. II. Title, HV6546,G825 1989 362.2 89-1312 ISBN 0-86586-188-9 A product of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Handicapped and Gifted Children Published in 1989 1 y The Council for Exceptional Children, 1920 Association Drive, Reston, Virginia 22091-1589. Stock No. 331Price $18.50 This publication was prepared with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, contract no. RI88062007. Contractors undertaking such projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their judgment in professional and technical matters. Prior to publication the manuscript was submitted to The Council for Exceptional Children for critical review and determination of professional competence. This publicationhas met such standards. Points of view, however, do not necessarily represent the offidal v!ew or opinions of either The Council for Exceptional Children or the Department of Education. Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Table of Contents Foreword Frank H. Wood vii Acknowledgments xi About the Author xiii PART I TOWARD AN UNDERSTANDING OF YOUTH SUICIDE 1 1. Introduction 3 2. The Study and Prevention of Suicide: A Brief History 8 3. Current Trends and Issues Related to Youth Suicide 14 4. Research: Problems, Trends, and Issues 20 5. Current Extent cC the ProblemFacts and Statistics 27 6. Are Exceptional Students at Risk for Suicide? 37 7. Risk Factors Associated with Suicidal Behavior 44 8. Events That Precipitate Suicidal Behavior 61 9. Problem of Contagion 69 10. Treatment of Suicidal Youth 76 11. A Shared Responsibility 92 12. Public Health Model: Three Levels of Prevention 101 PART II SUICIDE PREVENTION IN THE SCHOOL 105 13. The School Plan for Suicicl. Prevention 107 14. Assessment of Suicide Potei.tial 110 15. Crisis Intervention in the School 118 16. Working with Parents in Preventing YouthSuicide 128 17. Guidelines for Counselinga Suicidal Student 133 18. Procedures to Follow in the Aftermath ofa Suicide 142 19. Special Education's Role and Responsibility 151 20. Primary Prevention in the Schools: Enhancing Emotional Health 161 21. Epilogue: A Note from the Author 177 References 179 Index 197 6 Foreword In the view of the majority, the "healthy,normal view" shared by most of us, death is a shadowpresence in the midst of life, a presence that is unwelcome and resented. Choosing thelife we know, whatever its problems and pain,over the uncertainty of death, we guard ourselves and our lovedones as best we can against the changewe know willinevitably come. The suicide ofa fellow human beingfriend or strangerthe seemingchoice of early deathover longer lifeunbalancesus. Why would anyone choose to invite death into our midst? With great reluctancedo we admit that any c--ceivable explanation could be acceptable,and both religious nizations and the state have attemptedto prevent suicide by establishing sanctions against it. Themost general defense we adopt is to avoid discussing itor even thinking about it. Thus, if a suicide occurs we are caught by surprise. As I was preparing this foreword,my attention was drawn to newspaper stories describing two differentcases of adolescent suicide, each involvingmore than one death. In both cases, parents, friends, and teachers were asked by thereporters to explain what had occurred. In both instances, therewas a familiar list of problems conflicts with parents about the limitsof independence to explore drugs, sex, music, and dress; conflictswith teachers about conformity to school standards; conflicts withpeers about love, sex, and status. Aril involvement in "satanism,"fostered by music and movies popular with today's adolescents,was also offered as a possible explanation in both cases. Yet, we all knowthat most young persons experiencing these problems and exposedto these same distasteful influencesdo not attempt suicide. The questions of "whythis child" and "why this time" were not really answered ineither case. The suicide of ayoung person always seems particularlyunneces- sary to most of us. The suicide of a childor adolescent arouses in us a feeling that someone has failed in their responsibilityto that young person. Young suicides are often referredto as "victims," and the genuine grief we parents, teachers, andfriends feel at their deaths may almost be secondary to a ctisturbedsense of our own competence as caregivers. Our response is personalized.We turn backon vii viii I Youth Suicide: What the Educator Should Know ourselves, looking for ways in which our actionor inaction may have contributed to an outcome so unacceptable. Our sense of crisis is heightened by the knowledge that then isa contagion aspect to suicide. Once a group member has steppedacross a boundary erected by social taboos, those who are vulnerableare drawn to imitate them. The unthinkable has becomea dramatic topic for discussion. We must discuss suicide if weare to prevent it and respond to its occurrence. Yet, there is at least correlational datato suggest that public discussion and attention to suicide increases the probability of its reoccurrence. Whatever factors contributeto the "copycat suicide" phenomenon are especially strong during adoles- cence, affecting the group with which educators are especially concerned. To write a book about this sensitive topic thatmay be read by parents and students as well as teachers, any author I would trust must combine compassion with clear thinking. Dr. Eleanor Guetzloe has these important qualities. She has not only studied carefully what others have written about suicide, but she has been in situations where she experienced at first hand the anguish ofpersons at risk for self-injury or death and the grief and soul-searching ofsurvivors. These personal experiences have deepened hersense of compassion but have not taken from her the ability to think clearly about thebest responses we can make to prevent the occurrence of suicide and to restore social equilibrium when it has occurred. Her approachmay be described as honest in facing the facts, cautious inputting forth answers or explanations, and positive in suggesting steps for prevention. Some people who read this book will be underpressure to act immediately to prevent or respond to suicide. They willbe tempted to dash ahead to the "how to" preventor repair sections of the book without reading Dr. Guetzloe's carefully prepared lessonspresenting what is known about the social dynamics of suicide.This would be a mistake. We need to learn as muchas we can of the well established knowledge about suicide and itscauses, while recognizing the vast amount that is