Citation

Zenere FJ, Lazarus PJ. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 1997; 27(4): 387-402.

Affiliation

Department of Crisis Management, Dade County Public Schools, Miami, FL 33132, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9444734

Abstract

A 5-year longitudinal study of suicidal behavior of students attending Dade County Public Schools (DCPS) in Miami, Florida, between the 1989-1990 and 1993-1994 school years, is described. As the fourth largest public school system in the United States, DCPS is representative of an urban, multicultural community. The prevalence of suicidal behavior among DCPS students necessitated the development of a districtwide Suicide Prevention and School Crisis Management Program (SPSCMP), including the creation of the "Youth in Crisis Hotline." A review of eight national school districts' suicide prevention and intervention programs indicates similarities with the DCPS model. Statistical data compiled by the DCPS program are organized into annual, monthly, grade level, and school level classifications, and are analyzed to determine the degree and direction of self-destructive behavior among youth in a culturally and linguistically diverse school population following the introduction of a suicide prevention and intervention program. Evaluative data regarding the effectiveness of the program as well as implications for suicide prevention and intervention are discussed.