Provided by David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D.
Surgeon General of the United States of America
Chapter 3: Children and Mental Health
Overview of Mental Disorders in Children
Depression and Suicide in Children and Adolescents
Treatment
Suicide
Community-Based Suicide Prevention
Crisis Hotlines
Although crisis hotlines are available almost every- where in the United States,
research has failed to show that they reduce the incidence of suicide (Bleach &
Clairborn, 1974; Apsler & Hodas, 1976; Miller et al., 1984; Shaffer et al.,
1990a, 1990b). Possible reasons for this are that actively suicidal individuals
(males and individuals with an acute mental disturbance) do not call hotlines
because they are acutely disturbed, preoccupied, or intent on not being
deflected from their intended course of action (Shaffer et al., 1989). Hotlines
are often busy, and there may be a long wait before a call is answered, so that
callers disconnect; the advice individuals get on calling a hotline may be
stereotyped, inappropriate for an individual’s needs, and perceived as unhelpful
by the caller. Gender preferences in seeking help result in the large majority
of callers being females, whereas males are at greatest risk for suicide. While
each of these deficiencies is potentially modifiable, there have been no
systematic attempts to do so.
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