Adolescent Suicide Prevention: School Psychologists' Acceptability of School-Based Programs

Abstract

From a random sample of members of the 1996–1997 membership directory of the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), school psychologists' acceptability ratings of three school-based programs for the prevention of adolescent suicide were examined. A total of 211 (46.2%) respondents read a case description of a particular prevention program and completed the Suicide Prevention Program Rating Profile (SPPRP; Eckert, Miller, DuPaul, & Scherff, 2002), a measure designed to evaluate the acceptability of suicide prevention programs. Suicide prevention programs evaluated for their acceptability included: (a) school-wide curriculum-based programs presented to students; (b) in-service presentations to school staff; and (c) students' self-report screening programs. The results indicated that school psychologists rated the staff in-service training and curriculum-based programs as significantly more acceptable than the school-wide screening program. In addition, the school-wide screening program was rated as significantly more intrusive by school psychologists than the staff in-service training or curriculum-based prevention programs.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tanya L. Eckert

Tanya L. Eckert, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Syracuse University. Her primary research interests include school-based assessment and intervention for academic and behavior problems and acceptability of school-based procedures. She is currently an Associate Editor of School Psychology Review.

David N. Miller

David N. Miller, Ph.D., is currently the director of the Centennial School Predoctoral Internship Training Program in Professional Psychology. He is also a member of the school psychology faculty at Lehigh University. His research interests include childhood internalizing disorders, particularly issues in the school-based prevention of youth suicide.

George J. DuPaul

George J. DuPaul, Ph.D., is Professor and Coordinator of School Psychology at Lehigh University. His research interests include school-based intervention for disruptive behavior disorders and early intervention for young children at-risk for ADHD.

T. Christopher Riley-Tillman

T. Christopher Riley-Tillman, Ph.D., is currently an Assistant Professor with the School Psychology Program at Temple University. His primary areas of research interest involve examining the translation of empirical research to practice, the analysis of behavioral consultation in reference to generalization, and the development of empirically based academic interventions. In addition to his work at Temple University, Dr. Riley-Tillman consults on a weekly basis for the Bensalem Township School District in Pennsylvania.