A study of 26,000 students at 70 colleges and universities suggests that suicidal thoughts are not rare among that population, with more than half of the responders reporting they have thought about suicide and 15 percent reporting they have seriously considered ending their lives. More than 5 percent reported attempting suicide sometime in their lives.
The survey’s findings were reported today at the American Psychological Association’s convention in Boston, according to a news release from the association. The survey was conducted online in 2006 by the National Research Consortium of Counseling Centers in Higher Education.
David J. Drum, a psychologist at the University of Texas at Austin, and his co-authors found that 6 percent of undergraduates reported contemplating suicide in the 12 months before the survey was taken, and 4 percent of graduate students reported contemplating it during the same period. More than half the students who experienced a recent suicidal crisis did not seek help or tell anyone about their suicidal thoughts.
Researchers said the current model for treating students at risk for suicide, which identifies students in crisis and helps them, is insufficient. Survey results showed that suicidal thoughts are recurring experiences akin to depression, substance abuse, and eating disorders, and researchers say a new model needs to identify people along the continuum of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. That would allow interventions at multiple points, including before and after a student has thoughts of suicide.
The problem is too big to be handled by college mental-health counselors alone, researchers said. They suggested administrators, advisers, faculty members, parents, student leaders, and counselors all take on responsibility for suicide prevention at their institutions. “This would reduce the percentage of students who engage in suicidal thinking, who contemplate how to make an attempt, and who continue to make attempts,” Mr. Drum said in the association’s release. —Kathryn Masterson
