Weekly News Roundup Mar. 29 – Apr. 4, 2024

Subscribe to receive the weekly news roundup straight to your inbox!

Unprecedented field work leads to new book about how to stop youth suicide from spreading – University of British Columbia
April 4, 2024
Researchers from UBC spent time doing field work in a small community in the US that experienced several suicides between 2005 and 2018. The researchers were hoping to gain insights into suicide contagion among young people, and have recently published those insights into a book titled Life Under Pressure. One of the researchers, Dr. Seth Abrutyn, explains that the research was unique because “rarely do we find a researcher in the field when a cluster happens. We were in the field for about two and a half years… we were able to get a sense of the community’s situation prior to a suicide, and then observe what happened after the suicide and talk to people when it was still fresh in their minds.” Abrutyn said that the book recommends strategies to prevent youth suicide, including: implementing trauma-response plans for schools, making space for mourning rituals, finding ways for kids to focus less on achievement and perfection and more on ‘being kids’, and building trust between adults and youth. “We hope that readers find hope. For youth, we want to show them they aren’t alone, and that seeking help from an adult is important… For parents, we want them to hear and see the distress many youth are experiencing, and give them the green light to ask for help, too. Talking to your child about suicide, like you would about drugs, alcohol or sex, is safe and protective,” says Abrutyn.

Nex Benedict’s suicide coincides with a wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws – and some people’s misunderstanding about transgender and nonbinary individuals – The Conversation
April 3, 2024
Nex Benedict, 16, a non-binary high school student, died by suicide following a violent fight at school. Benedict went to the hospital for their injuries, and told police that they and their friends were targeted “because of the way we dress.” Since Benedict’s death, LGBTQ+ activists are drawing a connection between their death and the anti-LGBTQ+ laws being enacted across the US. In this article, the author, Marie-Amelie George, a law professor with expertise in LGBTQ+ rights, discusses the laws and their implications. George says, “LGBTQ+ rights activists have pressed schools to instill tolerance for same-sex sexuality and transgender identity. Data shows LGBTQ+ youth who live in a community accepting of LGBTQ+ identity report significantly lower rates of suicide attempts.”

High rates of suicide among young black men in rural areas: Study reveals systemic failure – The Atlanta Voice
April 2, 2024
A recent University of Georgia study has found that Black men from rural areas in the US are dying by suicide at alarming rates. Study co-author Steven Kogan says, “Connection is fundamental. I think some of the warning signs concern the quality of relationships. Suppose you start disconnecting from sources of support and nurturance, from family, from partners with children. In that case, you start on a path where you’re less integrated into the parts of the community that feed your soul, which is a hard place to be.” Co-author Michael Curtis says, “When we think of the concept of rural, we often don’t think of Black Americans, even especially here in the South. There are huge black rural communities that are well-established but don’t have access to resources.”

Teachers’ mental health ‘crisis’ prompts call for suicide prevention strategy – The Guardian
March 31, 2024
A teacher’s union in the UK has recommended that all school leaders should receive suicide prevention training to help mitigate a teacher’s “mental health emergency.” The union conducted a survey of 12,000 teachers finding that 23% reported drinking more alcohol as a result of stress from their work and 3% self-harmed. One teacher who has dealt with challenging student behaviour said,  “I’ve been in a very dark place in these last few months, to the point where I have repeatedly thought of suicide. I have also thought about leaving a career of 20 years.” According to teacher and union member Karen Brocklebank, additional stressors include, “stresses of rigorous classroom inspections, government targets, unmanageable amounts of paperwork and 50-hour-plus working weeks.”

The impact on nurses when a patient dies by suicide – Nursing Times
March 30, 2024
Research from the Royal College of Psychiatrists has found that mental health professionals will experience the suicide deaths of approximately one to four patients in their career. This article gathers anecdotes from mental health nurses and nursing students who have experienced the suicide death of a patient. Mental health nurse Adam Edwards describes his experience, including questioning his own practices, “My brain flicked through all the things I’d said to him, and it went from upset, shock, thinking about him and his family, to then thinking – how did this happen? Was it my fault? Had I missed something? Was there anything in his manner I could have picked up on?”