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The Irsay Institute Indiana University

Irsay hosts state meeting on causes and prevention of youth suicide

The Irsay Institute recently hosted the inaugural Innovation Think Tank on Suicide Research Symposium. The meeting, which was also supported by the Indiana Department of Mental Health and Addictions, brought together about 25 of the state’s researchers and programmatic leads to discuss topics related to youth suicide and prevention efforts. The meeting is part of a statewide effort to build capacity and collaboration around suicide research in Indiana, which is the second leading cause of death for Hoosiers aged 10-34. Over 1,100 state residents were lost to suicide in 2022, according to the CDC. 

Dr. Jonathan Singer of Loyola University Chicago was the invited speaker, and presented findings from two studies in *To Put It Into Words Would Make It A Lie: Making Sense of Qualitative Data. *His first study involved interviews with Ontario parents whose children had died by suicide. His second study was an analysis of over 15,000 responses to a 2020 Reddit thread, “Formerly suicidal redditors, what’s something that kept you alive a little while longer and helped you to get through the dark times in your lives?”

Other speakers included: 

  • Anna Mueller, PhD (IUB Sociology), Understanding the Social Roots of Youth Suicide and Suicide Clusters
  • Casey Pederson, PhD (IUSM, Psychiatry), Solutions for Overcoming Life-Threatening Actions and Crisis Events for Teens (SOLACE Lab)
  • Jessica Brantez (IUB Sociology), Examining Support for School-Based Suicide Prevention: Findings from Two Surveys
  • Michelle Bulington Fox (Indiana DMHA), Indiana’s State Suicide Prevention Strategic Vision and Directions
  • A panel discussion on youth services for suicide prevention with moderator Dr. Mueller, Heather Miller of Sources of Strength School Care Team, Annie Cole of Bring Change to Mind, and Priest Webb, a student representative of Bring Change to Mind. 
  • Marianne Chirica (IUB Psychological & Brain Sciences), A National Study of Greek-Life Affiliation and Suicide Related Outcomes among College Students
  • Myeshia Price, PhD (IUB. Education)* Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide among LGBTQ+ Youth*
  • Tamika Zapolski, PhD (IUSM, Psychiatry)*  Navigating STRESS by Providing…Safe Spaces, Tools,. Resources, Empowerment, Support, Stigma*

The group also discussed grant writing, partnerships, and data needs and opportunities. 

The Innovation Think Tank on Suicide is a community of practice developing around suicide research and suicide prevention programming in the state. Plans are to hold another, larger meeting in the fall of 2025, with opportunities for contributed work from faculty, staff, and programmatic partners around the state. If you are interested, please contact Delanie Marks at demark@iu.edu  to be added to future announcements.