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Suicide, the second leading cause of death among adolescents, requires an integrative approach to maximize the effectiveness of prevention efforts. The current study draws on the social-ecological model and its relevance to the ecosystem at Vocational Education and Training (VET) high schools in the context of suicide prevention. The study examined the school-related factors of school connectedness, academic self-efficacy and school autonomy support in relation to suicidal thoughts and behavior. Participants included 5688 students (mean age 15.58) drawn from 62 vocational high schools across Israel. Structural equation modeling revealed that school connectedness and academic self-efficacy exhibit negative links to suicide ideation and behavior; moreover, these links were partly mediated by depressive symptoms. School autonomy support was found to be positively linked to suicide ideation and suicide attempts. The paper discusses the results with respect to suicide prevention efforts in the unique context of adolescents attending vocational schools.

I Can Succeed-Elementary School (ICS-ES) is the first social-emotional learning (SEL) program based on interpersonal psychotherapy for adolescents (IPT-A). We hypothesized that fourth graders participating in ICS-ES over two school years would show improvements in interpersonal/social, emotional, and academic functioning. 419 fourth-grade students (204 girls and 215 boys, ages 9-10) were non-randomly assigned either to participating in ICS-ES (n=283) or to not participating in any SEL programs, i.e. treatment as usual (TAU; n=136). At the end of the second year, analyses showed significant improvement in assertiveness and significant reductions in internalizing symptoms and bullying among the ICS-ES group. The groups did not differ in cooperation, responsibility, hyperactivity, empathy, self-control, and externalizing symptoms. In addition, academic achievements in their first language (Hebrew) significantly improved only among ICS-ES students, while there were no changes in their second language (English) achievements. In contrast, TAU students showed a decrease in their second-language achievements. There were no differences between the groups in mathematics achievements. Teachers reported overall high satisfaction with the training and implementation. These results suggest that ICS-ES is a feasible and promising program for reducing internalizing symptoms and enhancing interpersonal skills and specific areas of academic functioning.

Background: In recent years, suicidal thoughts and behaviors have become increasingly common among children and adolescents, leading to an elevation in the number of visits to emergency departments in pediatric hospitals. In Israel, the rising demand for mental health treatment due to suicidal distress is also salient, creating prolonged wait periods and low case acceptance rates. Addressing the urgent need for streamlined interventions, the present study outlines the design and results of a non-inferiority effectiveness trial of an ultra-brief suicide crisis intervention based on Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Adolescents (IPT-A-SCI). Methods: 309 children and adolescents presenting to the Depression and Suicide Clinic at Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel with depressive and anxiety symptoms and/or suicidal ideation/behavior were assigned to either IPT-A-SCI, Treatment as Usual (TAU), or waitlist condition. Assessments were conducted pre- and post-intervention/after five sessions/five weeks (as secondary assessments) in accordance with group assignment. Results: At secondary assessment, post IPT-A-SCI, suicide ideation, and behavior as well as depression and anxiety symptoms significantly decreased, with no group differences observed between IPT-A-SCI, TAU, and control groups. Conclusion: IPT-A-SCI is feasible and as effective as the standard treatment in reducing suicidal, depressive, and anxiety symptoms among children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine whether adding schema therapy strategies to the conventional parent behavioral program prevents symptom relapse in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Method: The intervention was designed as an adaptive pragmatic control trial. The parent behavioral training and schema-enhanced parent behavior therapy (SPBT) protocols were delivered to the control group (40 parents of 23 children) and experimental group (97 parents of 54 children), respectively. Participants were assessed at baseline, mid-treatment, and termination. Parents and teachers indicated the severity of ADHD and comorbid symptoms through their responses to standardized questionnaires designed for this purpose.Results: A nested growth curve analysis demonstrated that participants in the schema-enhanced intervention group had a lower risk of symptom relapse than the control group.Conclusion: Participation in the SPBT program significantly reduced relapse rates by the end of the intervention. Future research may determine the long-term effects of the treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-harm is a severe health problem worldwide and in particular in clinical settings. The association of depression and self-harm has been extensively studied alongside various variables that have been examined as moderating this association. However, no previous study has examined the moderating role of attachment in this association. We explored the role of attachment orientation in moderating the association between depressive symptoms and self-harm among a sample of patients in a community mental health clinic. This study was a de-identified archival study of patients' medical charts, and used a convenience sample of 199 patients, which completed self-report measures following the initial intake appointment as part of clinic procedures. Findings showed that both attachment anxiety and avoidance moderated the association between depressive symptoms and self-harm, such that depressive symptoms were positively associated with self-harm only when attachment anxiety scores were high, and attachment avoidance scores were high or average. Attachment anxiety and avoidance should be assessed in the initial intake of patients as it has a contribution to understanding self-harm vulnerability among new patients. Future studies should explore this moderation longitudinally so causality could be inferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]