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May 28, 2005
Does suicide screening prompt suicides?
With many teenagers suffering from undiagnosed mental illness, experts have recommended screening kids for risk of suicide. But some worry that just asking kids questions about suicide will get them thinking about killing themselves. Researchers in New York recently carried out the first-ever study on whether suicide screening increases the risk of suicide. [...] Kids who answered questions about suicide weren't any worse off than kids who hadn't seen those questions. Their mood immediately after filling out the survey and two days later wasn't measurably worse. The researchers also looked at kids who might be at higher risk because they were depressed, used drugs or alcohol, or had attempted suicide before, and found the same was true. In fact, depressed kids were slightly less distressed?and kids who'd attempted suicide before were less likely to think about suicide?after the survey if they'd been asked about suicide than if they hadn't.
Reference: Gould, M.S. et al. 'Evaluating Iatrogenic Risk of Youth Suicide Screening Programs.' Journal of the American Medical Association. April 6, 2005, Vol. 293, No. 13, pp. 1635?1643.
Abstract online: http://jama.ama-assn.org
Posted by Emma at May 28, 2005 09:38 AM
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