PSY 225 Developmental Psychology (Adolescent)

This open access book focuses on the public health crisis of youth suicide and provides a review of current research and prevention practices. It addresses important topics, including suicide epidemiology, suicide risk detection in school and medical settings, critical cultural considerations, and approaches to lethal means safety. This book offers cutting-edge research on emerging discoveries in the neurobiology of suicide, psychopharmacology, and machine learning.

Depression is a major health concern confronting children, teens, and young adults, and trends in suicidal ideation or attempts indicate worsening mental health problems for these age groups. With a shortage of mental health specialists, more pediatricians and allied health professionals find themselves on the front lines identifying depression and suicide risk.

The 2013 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) showed that for the first time, indicators of youth suicide in the state are at or below the national average, where they were previously always above. In the three rural counties where the school systems have partnered with SYS and the Division of Adolescent Medicine in Lexington, there is an actual absence of completed suicides compared to the average of three per year prior to this partnership.

In the U.S., youth violence is the second leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24. This volume, authored by a noted psychotherapist with more than 30 years of experience in family violence, examines recent violent episodes perpetrated by young offenders in order to understand their root causes and to disseminate current prevention and treatment methods through a multidisciplinary lens.

The volume provides sound, scientifically grounded, and effective advice about bullying and suicide at every level: national, state, and community. Chapters provide details on models of interpersonal aggression; groups at risk for both bullying and suicide (such as sexual minorities); the role of stigma; family, school, and community-based youth bullying and suicide prevention programs, and more. Each chapter concludes with recommendations for mental health providers, educators, and policymakers.

This book discusses the dramatic increase in youth suicide and looks at why it is now one of the leading causes of death in young people. Presented in a balanced, factual manner, using both empirical and clinical data, the authors give specific suggestions that they have found useful as experienced clinicians. The book begins with a discussion and exploration of the problem from an epidemiological, demographic, and socio-cultural perspective. There is a discussion of assessment concerning ""objective"" paper and pencil self-report instruments and an examination of their validity; and reliabili.

This book outlines some of the ways in which queer youth suicide is perceived in popular culture, media and research. It highlights how the ways in which we think about queer youth suicide have changed over time and some of the benefits and limitations of current thinking. Drawing on approaches from queer theory, cultural studies and sociology, it explores how sexual identity formation, sexual shame and discrepancies in community belonging and exclusions are implicated in the reasons why some are resilient while others are vulnerable and at risk of suicide.