European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 12, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 8 the stars and stripes thursday december 12, 1985 in the suicides skyrocket b Mary Iii Day Sliff writer John Lien skips his High school grades arc plummeting Mil. When lit docs go i . He trouble conc Stratin me longer is seeing ins friends Mil been nver he in talking annul Betsij inn less. John is Nul a real student hut it he existed his parents Mil leathers would be right i worry about him. Hit teen Ager is showing symptoms of being i Leek depressed Ami Possich considering suicide. If lie tried in late his life he would Mil be unique i lie Lulli rentier of american Leen suicides skyrocketed Dur my the past my seats since la m. Tile number of Sun ides aiming people a c l in 14 has jumped near ot1 percent Leer dog to the a , enter for health 5.1 01 Young pc pie kill them secs yearly and another attempt Sui cide. Of to Louse a Todic. Three Nurt Lispare bins officials recently have reported Mac Cluster Sui in these cases a series of children have killed themselves after one suicide in a Community. Suicide is reaching much larger prep Orlins than Ever said Muj Robert Anderson chief of the mental health clime at Khein Mam a yet this tragic irks apparently has not spread to children in european Militar communities. Army. Air i Oree and Nai olt Iciak in i Europe said they know of Only one teen Ager a i 4-year-old son of an airman who has committed suicide abroad in 1 s5. Officials of department of defense dependents schools in Germany can recall Only three youth suicides in the it five years. Alle pled suicide is Mure frequent b it mental health and sch kit officials say talk of suicide is More prevalent than suicide attempts. Actual attempts Are still unusual although talking about it in said or. C of. William Klein head of the children and adolescent psychiatric service of the . Army Hospital in Frankfurt Klein said he receives about one Telephone Call a week from a Parent whose child is talking about suicide Iund Anee Counselor estimate Elliree o eight students attempt or talk about suicide in each mid to Large Sie High so Uiol in Germany each year Bob Iscie Hert supervisory Counselor at kaisers Lauvern High school is among who have known teen agers who attempted suicide it s always a he said i be never had an experience where someone was successful but six to eight gestures or attempts Are made Here a youth Suici inks in . Military communities in f Europe Are . One highly Public cil Mihl Arv Case helped Ruel National attention on the Ide problem. In Iii isl la h4, 13-Vear-old Danny Lolley. The son of an army sergeant stationed at i Ort Ord calif., killed himself. The family was financially Iron blvd following a per change of station move from Germany. The child reportedly told smother that the family would be better off with one Icso Mouth to feed. Although the Case made headlines it apparently had Little Impact on Leens in Liuro pc. Mental Terilli officials and guidance Counselor said few Chil Dren talked about the Case and there was no increase in suicide attempts or threats. Mow parents react of the i Lilart life tue and prob lems Ofinn determines How their children will react exp Cris . Military kids often Are More flexible than others Anderson said. Hut that depends on How the family reacts to moving and other no oni knows k k Sirk Why More Young people Are killing them solves. Some experts believe kids Are under More pressure than Ever before. Pushed to the limit by parents and others who have High expectations feeling deeply de pressed and convinced things never will gel Beiler these children choose in end in All. Anderson Calls this the hurried child they Are rushed into situations they Are not really capable of handling Anderson told parents at a recent program on Leen suicides at Rhein main a they gel to a Point. They find themselves behind the eight Ball. They Are appreciated by their parents not for what the Are but for what they mental health experts in Europe said other factors that can Lead kids to the Brink Are a death in the family moving in a new place gelling a new brother or sister or a new Parent through remarriage breakup with a Girlfriend or Boyfriend being Cut from a sports team and suicide of a close Friend or peer. Other factors also can spell trouble such As a family history of suicide mental illness use of alcohol or drugs and the problems of and ii Cence. When the mind Anil body go through rapid Aiges and peer group pressures Are intense. One of the most important things a Parent can do for a child. Anderson said is to let the child know he or she is loved. A University Chicago study showed that a com Mon Factor among children committing suicide was that parents virtually ignored them and tended to give them Mode and objects rather than alte lion and love. Schools joining the fight scc6nd in a two part series by Mary Iii Day staff write the youth suicide epidemic in America apparently has not hit military communities in Europe. And officials of the department of defense dependents schools want to keep it that Way. Suicide is not Large a problem Here in inc slates said Ore Tehon Ridgway. Pupil personnel serv ices coordinator for the Iera any Region. But that does t mean we should t be a Sare and have guidelines for identifying and preventing Micides awareness was High lend Etc onily when education division chiefs of the five Dodds regions met in Washington to hear youth suicide expert Charlotte Ross Dis cuss the problem in the United Stales. She recommended thai All school districts develop suicide prevention programs. Educators attending the meeting agreed and officials at Dodds Headquarters arc planning a prevention pro Gram. However the program has not been made final and officials said they could not discuss it. But regional education officials arc Muring ahead with their own programs to spot and help kids in trouble it is an emphasis in the Stales Ridgway Saivii. We want to do something. If we save a couple lives we arc accomplishing a yet they Are leery1 of drawing too much at Tention to their a Floris. Officials also Don t want to Label their activities suicide prevention programs because icy fear indirectly encouraging suicide. We Felt a lot of publicity and attention we some times pay to a program might not be the right approach said Joseph Correll Pupil personnel services coordinator for the Mediterranean Region. That does t mean we re not concerned but we Don t want to overemphasis and create a larger school officials in i Iuro pc arc holding workshops for guidance Counselor and teachers on the causes of Sui Cilc. How to spot depressed or troubled youngsters and How to handle and help children who have threatened suicide. In he Germany Region a task Force of Counselor and social workers will Niccol later this school year to develop suicide prevention guidelines. I Eer counselling programs in which stud cols arc trained to talk with and informally counsel i hair Peers also Are gaining popularity. Correll Hopes id Start such programs in High schools later this school year. Teens themselves Are the people Leens go to when they have personal problems he said. Some. Courses it guidance programs Are being changed to include discussions and information designed to help students develop Strong self concepts and positive altitudes about themselves one health program for example is called Ogeth in it. Students have an Opportunity to talk about growing up coping skills problem solving and other subjects teachers have been trained to discuss suicide. While teachers and guidance Counselor can be the first to spot a troubled child they do not handle cases alone. Students discussing suicide or showing signs of serious depression arc referred to psychologists and psychiatrists in various military mental health agencies. We have Many places to said Jeanne Tiberg Chin kindergarten through seventh Grade Counselor at Vilseck elementary and High school. It professional help is readily available to
