Research Shows that Mental
Health Screening for Youth Is Effective
- Screening is an accurate predictor of mental health
problems that may develop into more serious conditions. In a study
examining young adults several years after they had participated in TeenScreen
in high school, two-thirds of those who made a later suicide attempt or
went on to experience a major depression in young adulthood had been
identified as being at risk in high school.1
- Clinicians in school-based health centers (SBHCs) using
screening tools to assess students who present for services correctly
identify three times the number of depressed youth, five times the number
of anxious youth, and four times the number of youth with multiple
disorders as compared to SBHC clinicians who do not use screening tools.2
- A study of TeenScreen’s implementation in a school setting found that early detection of risk factors through screening can result in earlier treatment and the avoidance of a suicidal crisis.3
- Rates of self-reported suicide attempts decrease when
screening is combined with education about suicide and its prevention.4
- The U.S. Surgeon General has highlighted screening as
an effective method of youth suicide prevention.5, 6
- The President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
placed a high priority on the implementation of voluntary school-based
screening programs.7
Research
Shows that Mental Health Screening Is Safe
Mental
health screening and directly asking youth if they are thinking about suicide
or have made a prior suicide attempt does not put the idea of committing
suicide in their heads, increase suicidal ideation, or create distress.8
- Teens who participated in screening did not have higher
distress levels than teens who did not participate
- Screening participants did not have higher rates of
depressive symptoms than non-participants
- Screening participants were not more likely to report
suicidal ideation after completing the screening
- Depressed teens and previous suicide attempters who
were screened were less distressed and suicidal than depressed teens and
previous suicide attempters who were not screened
References
1 Shaffer D, Restifo K, Garfinkel R,
Wilcox H, Ehrensaft M, Munfakh J. (1998). Screening for young-adult
suicidality and mood disorders in high school. Poster presented at the
annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Anaheim, CA.
2 Levitt JM, WonPat-Borja A, Buffered S, Jensen P. (2004).
Implementing evidence-based assessment strategies in schools. Poster
presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association; Honolulu, HI.
3 Brown, M. M., & Goldstein Grumet, J. (2009). School-based suicide prevention with African American youth in an urban setting. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40(2), 111-117.
4 Aseltine RH and DeMartino R. (2004). An outcome evaluation of
the SOS suicide prevention program. American Journal of Public Health;
94(3): 446-451.
5 U.S. Surgeon General (1999). Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon
General. Rockville, MD:
U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, National Institutes
of Health, National Institute of Mental Health.
6U.S. Public Health Service (2000). Report of the Surgeon General’s
Conference on Children’s Mental Health: A National Action Agenda. Washington, DC:
Department of Health and Human Services.
7New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, Achieving the Promise:
Transforming Mental Health Care in America. Final Report.
DHHS Pub. No. SMA-03-3832. Rockville,
MD: 2003.
8 Gould M, Marrocco F, Kleinman M, Thomas J, Mostkoff K, Cote J, Davies M. (2005). Evaluating iatrogenic risk of
youth suicide screening programs: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of
the American Medical Association; 293: 1635-1643.
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