Issues Most Important to Parents after Their Child's Suicide Attempt: Findings from an Expert Panel of Mental Health Professionals

According to the Centers for Disease Control, suicide is the third leading cause of death for people ages 10-24 and results in 4600 lives lost each year. While any life lost is tragic, deaths from youth suicide are only one... [ view full abstract ]

According to the Centers for Disease Control, suicide is the third leading cause of death for people ages 10-24 and results in 4600 lives lost each year. While any life lost is tragic, deaths from youth suicide are only one piece of the problem; more youth survive a suicide attempt than actually complete the act. Youth suicide attempts affect not only the child, but also have damaging effects on peers, families, and communities. To date, little research has been completed allowing parents of adolescents who have made non-lethal suicide attempts to tell their stories. This presentation will highlight results of a pilot study whose aim was to identify important questions to utilize in uncovering issues most important to parents whose child had made a non-lethal suicide attempt. A Delphi technique was utilized with an interdisciplinary panel of adolescent mental health experts at a United States Midwestern Behavioral Health Hospital including nurses, behavioral health associates, social workers, and psychologists. The research process, using the Social-Ecological Model as a framework, consisted of two rounds of surveys given to an expert panel. Round one asked panelists open-ended questions and allowed panel members to generate ideas and comment on issues. The responses from round one were analyzed by the research team and sent back to the panelists in the form of grouped responses or statements. Panelists then were asked to rate the importance of grouped responses/statements in a second round survey. Qualitative methodology using a constant comparative analysis uncovered relevant themes related to the responses from the mental health experts. Results of the pilot study will be highlighted in the presentation. An advanced understanding of the issues most important to parents whose child has made a non-lethal suicide attempt has implications for creating acceptable and useful interventions aimed at preventing youth suicide.