No-suicide agreements: high school students' perspectives

Death Stud. 2002 Dec;26(10):851-7. doi: 10.1080/07481180290106616.

Abstract

Researchers have studied what therapists and college students think about no-suicide agreements, but high school students might also be called on to use these kinds of agreements. To examine their perspectives, 96 Caucasian and African American high school students were randomly assigned to read a vignette about a 15-year old suicidal adolescent, Jamie, who met with a psychologist. Jamie's therapist used 1 of 2 treatments: therapy alone or therapy in conjunction with a no-suicide agreement. Students rated their attitudes toward the intervention. Overall, students were more positive toward using no-suicide agreements as part of the treatment of suicidal adolescents than using therapy alone. High school students are similar to college students in their positive view of no-suicide agreements. Their endorsement, however, was lukewarm.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent*
  • Attitude*
  • Contracts*
  • Humans
  • Students / psychology*
  • Suicide Prevention*
  • United States