Suicidal students’ use of and attitudes to primary care support services

Abstract

The aims of this study were to improve responses to students in distress and who are feeling suicidal, to help practitioners to increase their responsiveness to those at high risk of suicide and to develop effective responses to those affected by their deaths. The study sought to build a detailed picture of students' patterns of service use. Background: National suicide prevention strategies emphasise that suicide prevention requires the collaboration of a wide range of organisations. Among these, primary care services play a key role in relation to suicide prevention for young people in crisis. Methods: This study, undertaken between 2004 and 2007, focused on 20 case studies of student suicide that took place in the United Kingdom between May 2000 and June 2005. It adopted a psychological autopsy approach to learn from a wide range of informants, including parents, friends, university staff and the records of coroners or procurator fiscals. Twenty families gave permission for their son's or daughter's death to be included in the study and agreed to participate in the study. Informants were interviewed in person and the data were analysed thematically. Analysis of the case study data suggested that in a number of cases students had failed to engage with services sufficiently early or in sufficient depth. Primary care practitioners need to be proactive in communicating concerns about vulnerable students to student support services. At local levels, collaboration between student support and National Health Service practitioners varied considerably and channels of communication need to be developed.

Examining mental health literacy, help seeking behaviours, and mental health outcomes in UK university students

“…First, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine multiple attributes of mental health literacy in UK university students. Previous studies in the UK (Chew-Graham et al, 2003;Furnham et al, 2008;Furnham et al, 2011;Furnham et al, 2013;Furnham and Wong, 2007;Stanley et al, 2010) have not addressed all major aspects of mental health literacy and therefore failed to provide a holistic investigation of what university students understand, feel about, and ultimately act on, with respect to mental health problems. Second, the MHLS, K10, and WEMWBS indicated good or excellent internal consistency, illustrating that they reliably measured all intended constructs of mental health literacy, distress, and well-being.…”

Harmful or helpful? The role of the internet in self-harming and suicidal behaviour in young people

“…Research has shown that as a group, young people are generally likely to make low use of health and other professional support services (Viner and Barker, 2005) and are more likely to turn to their friends or other informal sources of help when facing a crisis (Aseltine and DeMartino, 2004;Elias, 1994, 1995;Hawton et al, 2002). Scepticism about the effectiveness of intervention and limited experience of accessing professional services on their own account may make them more likely to turn to informal rather than formal sources of help, including the internet (Oliver and Storey, 2006;Stanley et al, 2010). Young people can find relief and comfort in discovering that they are not alone, that there are others who are undergoing a similar kind of pain or suffering along with them (Ozawa-de Silva, 2008).…”

Keeping the door open: Exploring experiences of, and responses to, university students who disclose mental illness

“…An alarmingly common theme in the research is the reluctance of young university students with mental health concerns to engage in help-seeking behaviours. This is particularly concerning considering recent research conducted by Stanley, Mallon, Bell, and Manthorpe (2010) found that failure to engage with support services could have been a primary factor in completed suicides of students in higher education. This lack of student engagement was apparent in a large survey of college students in the United States, where 67% perceived a need for mental health services but only 38% had sought such services in the preceding year (Cranford, Eisenberg, & Serras, 2009).…”

“…Strategies and interventions to address the concerning prevalence of mental illness in university students have been widely discussed, and universities have a clear responsibility to adopt evidence-based support services to promote the mental health and wellbeing of students and, in turn, encourage their academic success. Stanley, Mallon, Bell, and Manthorpe (2010) highlighted the need for specialist mental health advisors within Universities to link more strategically with general practitioners and primary care providers. Open communication and collaboration between students and staff, and the availability of enhanced mental health services, is considered key to preventing worsening psychopathology of students and improving student retention (Schwartz & Kay, 2009).…”