Whitlock study finds that self-injury in young adults indicates suicide risk

A paper published by the Journal of Adolescent Health on December 4th reports the findings of a longitudinal study on non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) led by BCTR and Human Development researcher Dr. Janis Whitlock. In a Cornell Chronicle article on the study, Dr. Whitlock describes the findings:

While we can't conclude that self-injury leads to later suicide attempts, it is a red flag that someone is distressed and is at greater risk. This is important because self-injury is a relatively new behavior that does not show up much in the literature as a risk factor for suicide. It also suggests that if someone with self-injury history becomes suicidal, having engaged in NSSI may make it much easier to carry out the physical actions needed to lethally damage the body.

BCTR co-authors on the paper include BCTR director John Eckenrode, and Amanda Purington, project coordinator for the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injurious Behavior.

Nonsuicidal Self-injury as a Gateway to Suicide in Young Adults

Talks at Twelve: Ann Marie White, Thursday, December 6, 2012

Preparing to Work with Systems and Stakeholders to Prevent Violence and Suicide
Ann Marie White, Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Rochester

Thursday, December 6, 2012
12:00pm-1:00pm
Beebe Hall, 2nd floor conference room

Lunch will be served. This event is open to all.

Fundamental factors at individual, relational, community and societal levels contribute to violence and suicide. Identifying, mitigating or preventing such ‘common risks’ is a key nexus for public health and prevention approaches. However, this extant literature is less instructive of ‘where to begin’ prevention initiatives – and says little about who or how communities experiencing these factors are to develop and lead in these areas.

Fostering academic-community partnerships that employ community-based participatory research as well as systems science methods is a critical direction of prevention research. Mobilization of stakeholder systems can generate far reaching, network-based intervention models within community members’ means to implement.

Methods of devising, testing and sustaining population-level, community-based and -led approaches (beyond formal health care and led by those affected), that employ some social network intervention (e.g., spread of information through a group), are underdeveloped. New directions in these methods for violence prevention are the focus of this talk.

Dr. Ann Marie White is Director of the Office of Mental Health Promotion (OMHP) and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She leads department-level change initiatives to deepen Psychiatry’s community engagement via service, education and research. OMHP oversees community, consumer and diversity affairs for Psychiatry faculty and staff. Dr. White directs local and national training activities in collaborative research to infuse scientific inquiries with mental health-related policy and program activities of communities. developed participatory research with volunteer “natural helpers” seeking to strengthen urban neighborhoods’ violence prevention activities and conducts multimedia education to develop civic engagement among youth and young adults from traditionally disadvantaged backgrounds. Her research interests focus on successful transitions into adulthood. Her 10+ years of research experiences in developmental psychology emphasized the role of community settings such as childcare, arts centers and after-school programs in the development of children and adolescents. Upon completion of her doctorate in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, she was a AAAS/SRCD fellow in the U.S. Senate and the National Institutes of Health.

Whitlock quoted in Maclean’s article on depression and suicide in college student populations

The September 10th issue of Maclean's Magazine (Canada) features a cover story on depression and suicide in college students. Janis Whitlock, Ph.D., director of the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injurious Behavior, is quoted twice in the article, which suggests that a variety of stresses are causing an increase in depression in college students.

The stress of it all is a huge burden to bear. In preliminary findings from an unpublished study involving several U.S. schools, Cornell psychologist Janis Whitlock found 7.5 per cent of students who started university with no history of mental illness developed some symptoms. About five per cent who did have a previous history of mental illness saw symptoms increase while at university. She says, “there’s probably never been a more complicated time to be growing up than right now.”

The full article can be read online here.

Talks at Twelve: Peter A. Wyman, Thursday, October 11, 2012

Suicide Prevention Delivered by High School Peer Leaders: Phases of Research Evaluating the Sources of Strength Intervention
Peter A. Wyman, University of Rochester

Thursday, October 11, 2012
12:00-1:00pm
Beebe Hall, 2nd floor conference room

Lunch will be served. This talk is open to all. Metered parking is available in the Plantations lot across the road from Beebe Hall.

Peer opinion leaders are used widely in prevention of substance abuse and HIV risk behaviors but not yet in suicide prevention. This talk will describe the rationale for Sources of Strength, which trains diverse student peer leaders to change social-ecological protective factors associated with reduced suicidal behavior at a high school population level, working with adult mentors. Several phases of research will be described including an initial trial testing the concept, a study testing alternative peer leader messaging activities with peer groups, and an ongoing trial funded by NIMH involving 34 high schools and 14,000 high school students that includes extensive social network analysis.

Peter A. Wyman, PhD, is Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and Director of the School and Community-Based Prevention Laboratory. Wyman's primary focus is developing and testing community-based preventive interventions designed to strengthen well-being in children and adolescents, particularly those underserved by traditional mental health services.

The paper associated with this talk: An Outcome Evaluation of the Sources of Strength Suicide Prevention Program Delivered by Adolescent Peer Leaders in High Schools