Teen Suicide: Who, Why And How You Can Prevent It

Each year over 6,000 young people between the ages of 15-24 take their own lives, and some half million make the attempt. Teen Suicide, a four-part overview geared toward junior high and high school students combines dramatizations of various problems which young people perceive to be all-encompassing enough to warrant suicide with commentary from Dr. Samuel Klagsbrun, a specialist at Four Winds Hospital in Katomah, NY. Since 1960, the number of teenage suicides has risen dramatically, from 5.2 per 100,000 to 12.3 per 100,000 (1980). Teen suicide has moved up from the sixth to the second leading cause of death among young people during the last twenty years. Although the program does a good job of defining the problem, its constant reassurances that potential suicides can be diagnosed and prevented do not jibe with the strongest section of the material: an interview with Anne Spoonhour, whose 14-year-old son, Justin, hanged himself without warning. Spoonhouros testimony is intelligent and moving, yet it is clear that she has no clue as to why her son took his life. Still, Dr. Klagsbrun does offer a set of general signs to watch for: radical changes in behavior, loss of sleep (or too much), the sudden desire to give things away, and, most importantly, talking about death. The programs greatest achievement may be in convincing other young people that its all right to rat on their friends who share their suicide plans in secret. Telling others is a potential suicides way of desperately asking for help. Includes a program guide with discussion topics, bibliography, and a listing of national suicide prevention centers. Recommended for school and larger public libraries. (Available from: Guidance Associates, Communications Park, Box 3000, Mount Kisco, NY 10549).