IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i19p12625-d932397.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Selected Texan K-12 Educators’ Perceptions of Youth Suicide Prevention Training

Author

Listed:
  • Melanie McKoin Owens

    (Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

  • Alexis Zickafoose

    (Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

  • Gary Wingenbach

    (Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA)

  • Sana Haddad

    (Mental Health America of Greater Houston, Houston, TX 77098, USA)

  • Jamie Freeny

    (Mental Health America of Greater Houston, Houston, TX 77098, USA)

  • Josephine Engels

    (Mental Health America of Greater Houston, Houston, TX 77098, USA)

Abstract

K-12 school personnel may be frontline responders for youth contemplating suicide or other harmful behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of this preliminary study was to determine selected K-12 educators’ perceptions of youth suicide prevention (YSP) training. A longitudinal trend survey with repeated measures and proportionally stratified random samples of K-12 personnel from nine Texas independent school districts provided data. Participants’ perceived knowledge of the YSP content showed significant appreciative gains between pre- and follow-up post-tests. Likewise, their confidence levels for helping students at risk of suicide and approaching other adults to talk about students at risk of suicide rose significantly between pretests and follow-up post-tests. This preliminary study reinforces the value of training educators to acquire content knowledge and confidence boosting opportunities for engagement in difficult dialogue about suicidality. YSP training helped improve educators’ confidence to engage with others about students’ mental health concerns, calling attention to the importance of identifying early warning signs that may aid in early support and prevention of youth mental health concerns.

Suggested Citation

  • Melanie McKoin Owens & Alexis Zickafoose & Gary Wingenbach & Sana Haddad & Jamie Freeny & Josephine Engels, 2022. "Selected Texan K-12 Educators’ Perceptions of Youth Suicide Prevention Training," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-12, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:19:p:12625-:d:932397
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/19/12625/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/19/12625/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Geldhof, G. John & Warner, Danielle A. & Finders, Jennifer K. & Thogmartin, Asia A. & Clark, Adam & Longway, Kelly A., 2018. "Revisiting the utility of retrospective pre-post designs: The need for mixed-method pilot data," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 83-89.
    2. Hubel, G.S. & Davies, F. & Goodrum, N.M. & Schmarder, K.M. & Schnake, K. & Moreland, A.D., 2020. "Adverse childhood experiences among early care and education teachers: Prevalence and associations with observed quality of classroom social and emotional climate," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    3. Amy J Morgan & Anna Ross & Nicola J Reavley, 2018. "Systematic review and meta-analysis of Mental Health First Aid training: Effects on knowledge, stigma, and helping behaviour," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-20, May.
    4. Skovdal, Morten & Campbell, Catherine, 2015. "Beyond education: What role can schools play in the support and protection of children in extreme settings?," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 175-183.
    5. Alexis Zickafoose & Gary Wingenbach & Sana Haddad & Jamie Freeny & Josephine Engels, 2022. "Homophily Effect in Trauma-Informed Classroom Training for School Personnel," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-12, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shota Dzemaili & Jérôme Pasquier & Annie Oulevey Bachmann & Meichun Mohler-Kuo, 2023. "The Effectiveness of Mental Health First Aid Training among Undergraduate Students in Switzerland: A Randomized Control Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Raquel Simões de Almeida & Maria João Trigueiro & Paula Portugal & Sara de Sousa & Vítor Simões-Silva & Filipa Campos & Maria Silva & António Marques, 2023. "Mental Health Literacy and Stigma in a Municipality in the North of Portugal: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-14, February.
    3. Masatsugu Orui & Maiko Fukasawa & Naoko Horikoshi & Yuriko Suzuki & Norito Kawakami, 2020. "Development and Evaluation of a Gatekeeper Training Program Regarding Anxiety about Radiation Health Effects Following a Nuclear Power Plant Accident: A Single-Arm Intervention Pilot Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-15, June.
    4. Kowalski, Monica J., 2023. "Measuring changes with traditional and retrospective pre-posttest self-report surveys for a brief intervention program," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. Miller, J. Jay, 2020. "Developing self-care competency among child welfare workers: A first step," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    6. Justino, Patricia, 2016. "Supply and demand restrictions to education in conflict-affected countries: New research and future agendas," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 76-85.
    7. Denis-Ramirez, Elise & Sørensen, Katrine Holmegaard & Skovdal, Morten, 2017. "In the midst of a ‘perfect storm’: Unpacking the causes and consequences of Ebola-related stigma for children orphaned by Ebola in Sierra Leone," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 445-453.
    8. Mao-Sheng Ran & Man-Man Peng & Yuen Yum Yau & Tian-Ming Zhang & Xu-Hong Li & Irene Yin Ling Wong & Siuman Ng & Graham Thornicroft & Cecilia Lai-Wan Chan & Lin Lu, 2022. "Knowledge, contact and stigma of mental illness: Comparing three stakeholder groups in Hong Kong," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(2), pages 365-375, March.
    9. Häggström, Felix & Borsch, Anne Sofie & Skovdal, Morten, 2020. "Caring alone: The boundaries of teachers' ethics of care for newly arrived immigrant and refugee learners in Denmark," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    10. Agans, Jennifer P. & Maley, Mary & Rainone, Nicolette & Cope, Marie & Turner, Andrew & Eckenrode, John & Pillemer, Karl, 2020. "Evaluating the evidence for youth outcomes in 4-H: A scoping review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    11. Bhana, Deevia & Janak, Raksha & Pillay, Daisy & Ramrathan, Labby, 2021. "Masculinity and violence: Gender, poverty and culture in a rural primary school in South Africa," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    12. Yiyeon Kim, 2021. "The geographic scope of conflict and HIV," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(6), pages 2313-2322, November.
    13. Matthew Witry & Hacer Karamese & Anthony Pudlo, 2020. "Evaluation of participant reluctance, confidence, and self-reported behaviors since being trained in a pharmacy Mental Health First Aid initiative," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(5), pages 1-12, May.
    14. Catherine Campbell & Louise Andersen & Alice Mutsikiwa & Claudius Madanhire & Constance Nyamukapa & Simon Gregson, 2016. "Can Schools Support HIV/AIDS-Affected Children? Exploring the ‘Ethic of Care’ amongst Rural Zimbabwean Teachers," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, January.
    15. Sarah Clement & Katie Spellman & Laura Oxtoby & Kelly Kealy & Karin Bodony & Elena Sparrow & Christopher Arp, 2023. "Redistributing Power in Community and Citizen Science: Effects on Youth Science Self-Efficacy and Interest," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, May.
    16. Joana Cruz & Piran C. L. White & Andrew Bell & Peter A. Coventry, 2020. "Effect of Extreme Weather Events on Mental Health: A Narrative Synthesis and Meta-Analysis for the UK," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-17, November.
    17. Linda Beckman & Lisa Hellström, 2021. "Views on Adolescents’ Mental Health in Sweden—A Qualitative Study among Different Professionals Working with Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-14, October.
    18. Yuanyuan Liao & Moses Agyemang Ameyaw & Chen Liang & Weijian Li, 2023. "Research on the Effect of Evidence-Based Intervention on Improving Students’ Mental Health Literacy Led by Ordinary Teachers: A Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-11, January.
    19. Crea, Thomas M., 2016. "Refugee higher education: Contextual challenges and implications for program design, delivery, and accompaniment," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 12-22.
    20. Tibbitts, Deanne C. & Aicher, Sue A. & Sugg, Judith & Handloser, Kimberlee & Eisman, Liz & Booth, Lauren D. & Bradley, Ryan D., 2021. "Program evaluation of trauma-informed yoga for vulnerable populations," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:19:p:12625-:d:932397. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.