A review of suicide in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities found that successful suicide prevention programs used in these communities generally (1) address risk factors while “building individual self-efficacy and positive self-image,” (2) “are strength-based and culturally sensitive,” and (3) include traditional healing practices as well as cultural/spiritual development. After reviewing the literature, […]
Special Populations
Economic Costs of Youth Disadvantage and High-Return Opportunities for Change
The White House’s Council of Economic Advisers has released a report on closing opportunity gaps for disadvantaged youth that highlights two promising programs: One Summer Jobs Plus (OSP) and Becoming a Man (BAM). With Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention-supported evaluation grants, the University of Chicago Crime Lab is currently testing both youth-focused delinquency […]
Summer Jobs Reduce Violence among Disadvantaged Youth
Every day, acts of violence injure more than 6000 people in the United States. Despite decades of social science arguing that joblessness among disadvantaged youth is a key cause of violent offending, programs to remedy youth unemployment do not consistently reduce delinquency. This study tests whether summer jobs, which shift focus from remediation to prevention, […]
Mental Illness Drives Hospitalizations for Detained California Youth
Hospitalization for mental health problems is far more common among kids behind bars than among children and teens in the general population, a new study finds. Juvenile inmates also have longer hospital stays, which suggests they have more serious underlying mental health problems, according to the Stanford University School of Medicine researchers. “We know young […]
Effect of Attention Training on Attention Bias Variability and PTSD Symptoms
A computerized attention-control training program significantly reduced combat veterans’ preoccupation with – or avoidance of — threat and attendant PTSD symptoms. By contrast, another type of computerized training, called attention bias modification – which has proven helpful in treating anxiety disorders – did not reduce PTSD symptoms. NIMH and Israeli researchers conducted parallel trials in […]
The Role of Social Support and Social Context on the Incidence of Attempted Suicide Among Adolescents Living in Extremely Impoverished Communities
The authors of a longitudinal study of African American youth living in extremely impoverished neighborhoods found that they had a nearly 36-percent risk of attempting suicide by the time they reached the age of 20. The risk of attempting suicide rose as the children entered adolescence and then remained fairly stable, peaking at age 15. […]