UBCO researchers are saying we need to rethink current strategies used to prevent youth suicide.
The old proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” also applies to preventing youth suicide, according to UBC Okanagan researchers who found that community support is essential.
In Canada, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among children under 14 and the second for youth and young adults between 15 and 34 years old. The UBCO Faculty of Health and Social Development researchers say governments, schools and community agencies need to rethink how youth suicide prevention efforts are designed.
And work together on the issue.
“Suicide among young people is a major public health issue and is among the leading causes of death among children and youth around the world,” says Dr. Katrina Plamondon, Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and study co-lead.
“Most prevention strategies continue to focus on individual behaviours, coping skills or risk profiles,” says Dr. Plamondon. “But this approach overlooks the powerful influence of social, structural, political and environmental conditions on youth wellbeing, and often fails to prevent an incredibly tragic loss of life.”
The study, published recently in Critical Public Health, points to mounting evidence that links suicidality to systemic racism, rural isolation, environmental contamination and inequitable access to basic resources such as clean water and safe housing.
“Despite this,” says study co-author Dr. Shelly Ben-David, “youth voices are rarely included in designing prevention strategies.”
Dr. Ben-David, Associate Professor with UBCO’s School of Social Work, says that many high school students, young adults, caregivers and community service providers all had a voice in this study. The team used collages, stories and metaphors—such as the Japanese art of kintsugi, which repairs broken pottery with gold—to encourage deeper reflection.
“Many participants saw resilience as something repaired and rebuilt ‘with many hands’, showing that young people need care, connection and supportive environments to be resilient,” she adds.
Read the full story here: UBC Okanagan News