Source: UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA submitted to NRP
ADOLESCENT SUICIDE RISK AND PEER RELATED VIOLENT BEHAVIORS AND VICTIMIZATION: FACTORS AND PROCESSES RELATING TO RESILIENCY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0192947
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jul 1, 2002
Project End Date
Jun 30, 2005
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA
(N/A)
RENO,NV 89557
Performing Department
HUMAN DEVEL & FAMILY STUDIES
Non Technical Summary
Over the past decade, suicide and violence among youth have increasingly been viewed as major public-health issues. Although most often seen as seperate toipics, a growing acknowledgement of the overlapping nature of various forms of violence has made it imperative to better understand the linkage between these serious youth problems. The purpose of this study is to explore the link between peer-related violence and suicide risk among youth.
Animal Health Component
40%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
40%
Applied
40%
Developmental
20%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
8026020307070%
8026099307030%
Knowledge Area
802 - Human Development and Family Well-Being;

Subject Of Investigation
6020 - The family and its members; 6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
3070 - Psychology;
Goals / Objectives
This sutdy seeks to test the hypotheses that exposure to peer-related violence, either as a participant or witness, is associated with suicide risk. The Three objectives will be: 1) Measure confirming risk and protective mechanisms in youth, families, schools, and communities, 2) Align individual, family, school, and community variables ecologically and developmentally to describe predisposing and situational resilience to various forms of youth violence, and 3) Coordinate and develop application products that generate implications and ideas useful to prevention-oreinted professionals.
Project Methods
This project extends previous research by continuing to track youth cohorts into 11th and 12th grades at two Nevada sites (via surveys and focus groups), while expanding the original focus to include the related topic of youth suicide.

Progress 07/01/02 to 06/30/05

Outputs
Suicide and violence among youth have increasingly been viewed as major public-health issues over the past two decades. Although the connection between these issues among adults has a long history of examination across varied disciplines, much less attention has been given to the relationship of these issues among youth. This project explored these interwoven issues among youth by surveying youth in middle and high school settings. Data collection was completed in 2004, and several manuscripts have been completed with more in preparation from the project data. Although evidence is accumulating as to risk factors and subgroups that may place youth at greatest risk for suicidal behaviors, less is known about the linkage and risk relationship among depression, hopelessness, ideation, attempts, and completed suicide. This project has helped fill this gap, and the data is critical to intervention and prevention efforts because the period of adolescence has the highest ratio of suicide attempts to completions across the lifespan. Moreover, a better understanding of how risk and protective processes interact developmentally to increase youth vulnerability to suicide is critically needed, given the emotional lability typical of adolescence, and exposure to the various forms of violence, victimization, and risky behaviors increasingly common today. Project data will be used to develop community-based prevention programming, as well as continued development of manuscripts for academic and general public audiences.

Impacts
This project helped in the understanding of the connection between youth suicide and violence, with several Extension faculty in Nevada using project data to develop community-based intervention and educational programming on these issues. Nevada is currently third in the country in sucide rates, so this issue is of critical importance. Project data also has helped in the understanding of which resiliency models are best supported on these topics, with manuscripts published or in preparation. Thus, this project has generated new knowledge in terms of information that plays a critical role in our understanding of suicide and violence among youth, as well as applying this knowledge to the development of interventions and programming for youth, their families, and communities.

Publications

  • Christiansen, E., & Evans, W.P. (2005). Adolescent victimization: Testing models of resiliency by gender. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(3), 298-316.
  • Evans, W.P., Owens, P., & Marsh, S. (2005). Locus of control, environmental factors, and adolescent suicide risk. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 22(3), 1-17.
  • Marsh, S., Clinkinbeard, S., Thomas, R., & Evans, W.P. (2006). Risk and protective factors predictive of sense of coherence during adolescence. Submitted to Journal of Health Psychology.
  • Evans, W. (2002). School violence and suicide. Nevada Women's Agenda (for Nevada State Legislators). Nevada Women's Lobby.
  • Evans, W., Marte, R., Betts, S., & Silliman, B. (2001). Adolescent suicide risk and peer-related violent behaviors and victimization. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16(12), 1330-1348.
  • Smith, M., Hill, G., Evans, W., & Bandera, M. (2000). Perspectives and issues related to violence in a rural School. The Rural Educator, 22(1), 16-22.


Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04

Outputs
Data collection has been completed, as has data entry and coding. Mansucript prepartation and publication is ongoing. Data analysis is progressing according to the research plan with a special emphasis on the development of manuscripts. As reported last year, I have been successful in using project results to develop applied prevention projects with grant funding. These projects have the potential to greatly impact the communities in which they are conducted and include: New Communities Give Juvenile Offenders A Chance to Change, USDA/CSREES ($750,000. over five years--continued funding awarded 5/1/03)PIs: Evans & Smith. This continuing prevention project is developing alternative programming to detention for juvenile offenders. Project data was used for the needs assessment of this grant and will be used to help monitor the safety, violence, and suicide indicators of the project community sites. In addition, project data will be used in cooperation with the CDC Suicide Prevention Center to develop programs and applied research on youth suicide in Nevada. Another grant that was obtained in part using project data was: Smith, M. & Evans, W.P. (2004). Project Magic--Youth Program for Elko and Duck Valley Indian Reservation. DHHS-SAMHSA/BADA. $53,000.

Impacts
This project will help in the understanding of the connection between youth suicide and violence, with the hope the project results will inform Cooperative Extension and community-based intervention and educational programming on these issues. Nevada is currently third in the country in sucide rates, so this issue is of critical importance. Project data will also help in the understanding of which resiliency models are best supported on these topics; information that will play a critical role in our understanding of these issues among youth.

Publications

  • Evans, W.P., Owens, P., & Marsh, S. (2005). Locus of control, environmental factors, and adolescent suicide risk. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 22, 3.
  • Christiansen, E. & Evans, W.P. (2005). Adolescent victimization: Testing models of resiliency by gender. Journal of Early Adolescence.
  • Marsh, S, & Evans, W.P. (2005) In review. Predictors of Staff Responses to Problematic Youth Behavior In Detention Settings. Journal of Offender Rehabiliation.
  • Marsh, S., Clinkinbeard, S., Thomas, R., & Evans W.P. (2005) In review. Risk and Protective Factors Predictive of Sense of Coherence During Adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
  • Singletary, L. Smith, M. and Evans, W. (2005) In review. Physical and Psychological Safety Promotes Skills Youth Learn Through 4-H Youth Development Programs. Rural Educator.
  • Singletary, L., Smith, M., and Evans, W. (2005). In review. An Assessment of 4-H Volunteer Leader Skills and Implications for Future Volunteer Leader Training. Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education.


Progress 01/01/03 to 12/31/03

Outputs
Quantitative data collection has been completed with this project, although focus group and interview data collection continues at the project sites. I completed the merging of the larger data set (for regional project W-193)with this project's data (Nevada, Arizona, California, and Wyoming), although cleaning and technical issues continued to occupy most of my energy this past year. The final merged data set includes T1 fifth and eighth grade cohort data, as well as T2 eighth, tenth, and eleventh grade data from the W-193 project. I continue to focus on suicide issues with this data and have been preparing several products for publication.There will be no deviation in project direction or emphasis in the research plan for this upcoming year.

Impacts
The IRB protocol for this project remains in effect and was modified again this past year. Manuscripts were published (or in review) and several presentations were conducted. Several new and ongoing grants were obtained using project data. Data analysis is progressing according to the research plan with a special emphasis on the development of manuscripts. As reported last year, I have been successful in using project results to develop applied prevention projects with grant funding. These projects have the potential to greatly impact the communities in which they are conducted and include: New Communities Give Juvenile Offenders A Chance to Change, USDA/CSREES ($750,000. over five years--continued funding awarded 5/1/03)PIs: Evans & Smith. This continuing prevention project is developing alternative programming to detention for juvenile offenders. Project data was used for the needs assessment of this grant and will be used to help monitor the safety, violence, and suicide indicators of the project community sites. In addition, project data will be used in cooperation with the CDC Suicide Prevention Center to develop programs and applied research on youth suicide in Nevada. Another grant that was obtained in part using project data was: Smith, M. & Evans, W.P. (2003). Project Magic--Youth Program for Elko and Duck Valley Indian Reservation. DHHS-SAMHSA/BADA. $53,000.

Publications

  • Silliman, B, Evans, W.P., & Smith, M. (2003). Juvenile Justice: A CYFAR Frontier. Children, Youth, and Families At Risk Conference. May 14, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Brown, R., Killian, E., & Evans, W.P. (2003). Familial functioning as a support system for adolescents post-detention success. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 47, 529-541.
  • Presentations: Evans, W.P. (2003). Youth suicide and violence: Nexus issues. National Suicide Prevention Center-National Advisory Committee Meeting, May 12, Las Vegas, NV.
  • Evans, W.P. (2003). Confronting teen suicide. Safe Kids: A Rural Perspective Conference, May 9, UNR School of Medicine, Elko, NV.
  • Smith, M., Evans, W.P., Prior, K., Mason, N., & Hanks, Z. (2003). MAGIC on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation. Idaho Indian Education Conference, Oct. 2, Lewiston, ID. Evans, W.P., & Silliman, B. (2003). Juvenile Justice Interact Session. Children, Youth, and Families At Risk Conference. May 14, Minneapolis, MN.


Progress 07/01/02 to 12/31/02

Outputs
During the first six months of this project, literature and measurement reviews were conducted and the original W-193 survey (of which this project is a continuation) has begun to be modified. These tasks, as well as item construction, pilot testing, data codebook development, and scale stabilization are well underway. In addition to these activities, manuscript preparation on previously collected data from W-193 and data merging from participating W-193 states were accomplished.

Impacts
The initial survey results will be treated as a needs assessment that can help establish baseline data for each school site, and will also aid community-based Extension faculty with the development of education and prevention programs from this research. I also have met with teachers and administrators, providing reports from the survey data that school personnel can use for program development and planning purposes. In addition, I have started to outline preliminary manuscripts, some of which focus on educational program ideas.

Publications

  • Evans, B. School violence and suicide (2002), in Nevada Womens Agenda, Nevada Women's Lobby.
  • Evans, W.P., Brown, R., & Killian, E. (2002). Decision-making and perceived post-detention success among incarcerated youth. Crime and Delinquency, 48(4),553-567.