Citation

Keller SN, Wilkinson T. J. Soc. Mark. 2017; 7(4): 423-440.

Affiliation

School of Business, Whitworth University, 300 W. Hawthorne Road, Spokane, WA 99251, (509) 777-4567, twilkinson@whitworth.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Emerald Group Publishing)

DOI

10.1108/JSOCM-12-2016-0086

PMID

29255588

PMCID

PMC5731785

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study examined whether a community-based suicide prevention project could increase willingness to seek professional help for suicidal ideation among eastern Montana youth.

DESIGN: Online surveys were administered at baseline (N = 224) and six months post-test (N = 217) consisting of the Risk Behavior Diagnosis Scale (RBD), self-report questions on suicidality, willingness to engage with suicide prevention resources, and willingness to communicate with peers, family members, teachers or counselors about suicide.

FINDINGS: A comparison of means within groups from pre- to post-test showed increases in self-efficacy for communicating about suicidal concerns with a teacher, school counselor or social worker; increases in self-efficacy for helping others; and increases in response-efficacy of interpersonal communication about suicide with a teacher, school counselor or social worker. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Young adults need to be willing and able to intervene in life-threatening situations affecting their peers. In step with narrative empowerment education, personal experiences can be used to communicatively reduce peer resistance to behavior change. ORIGINALITY: Health communicators tend to rely on overly didactic education and awareness-raising when addressing suicide prevention. This research shows the importance of direct and personal forms of influence advocated by social marketing professionals.

Language: en

Keywords

Community-based research; depression; health communication; perceived stress; self-efficacy; suicide prevention