Citation

May PA, Serna P, Hurt L, DeBruyn LM. Am. J. Public Health 2005; 95(7): 1238-1244.

Affiliation

Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addictions, University of New Mexico, 2650 Yale Blvd, Albuquerque, NM 87106. pmay@unm.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2004.040410

PMID

15933239

PMCID

PMC1380310

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the efficacy of 15 years of a public health-oriented suicidal-behavior prevention program among youths living on an American Indian reservation. METHODS: All suicides, suicide attempts, and suicidal gestures were monitored. Age-specific analyses over time were used to assess outcomes. RESULTS: Both descriptive and linear regression analyses indicated that a substantial drop occurred in suicidal gestures and attempts. Suicide deaths neither declined significantly nor increased, although the total number of self-destructive acts declined by 73% (P=.001). CONCLUSIONS: Data from this community-based approach document a remarkable downward trend-measured by both magnitude and temporal trends in the specifically targeted age cohorts-in suicidal acts. The sequential decrease in age-specific rates of suicide attempts and gestures is indicative of the program's success.