PS14 - Effects of school-based suicide prevention

Multi-modal Approach to Preventing Suicide in Schools (the MAPSS project)
August, 29 | 14:00 - 15:30

Introduction: Suicide is a leading cause of death in young people worldwide, and schools may be an ideal setting for the delivery of youth suicide prevention interventions. Evidence suggests that multi-modal approaches to suicide prevention (i.e., those containing universal, selective and indicated components) may be most effective in school settings. The aim of the Multi-modal Approach to Preventing Suicide in Schools (MAPSS) project is to evaluate a suicide prevention program integrating three components: 1) psychoeducation workshops delivered to all year 10 students, 2) screening to identify students at risk, and 3) delivery of online cognitive behavioral therapy (Reframe IT) to students experiencing suicidal thoughts. Methods: Participants to date are 1449 young people (Age M = 15.5, 52% female) recruited from 20 high schools in Melbourne, Australia. Study outcomes include changes in self-reported suicidal ideation and willingness to seek help along with measures of the acceptability of the different interventions. Results: Preliminary results indicate that 36% of participants experienced some level of suicidal ideation with 10% reporting severe suicidal ideation. Suicide attempts in the sample in the last 12 months (5%) were less common but still prevalent. Despite this, less than half of students experiencing suicidal thoughts were currently linked with school wellbeing supports, and the suicide risk was even less commonly known (15%). The SafeTALK evaluation findings show that students find the program enjoyable (71%) and worthwhile (86%), and not very upsetting (97%). A fully updated set of results will be presented at the conference. Conclusion: This study is a world first that will advance our knowledge by directly testing the impact of an integrated multimodal approach to youth suicide prevention, thus addressing a key gap in the literature, and may provide support for new approaches to school-based suicide prevention.

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