Most Large US Public Colleges Fail to Keep Records on Suicides

 

Most large public universities in the United States do not keep records of how many students have taken their own lives.

Yet many American colleges and universities are making investments in suicide prevention. And the demand for mental health services is rising.

These are just a few of the findings of a report by the Associated Press, or AP, news agency. The report was released in early January.

The Associated Press asked the 100 largest U.S. public universities for yearly numbers on student suicides. It found that only 46 currently keep such statistics.

Only 27 public universities have done so regularly since 2007.

Of the remaining schools, 43 said they do not keep records of student suicides. Nine others could provide only limited information. The nine did not answer questions about how regularly they recorded the number of suicides. Two other schools did not provide statistics.

Recording¹ the number of student suicides comes with its own set of problems. But suicide prevention activists³ say that without this kind of data, school officials have no way to measure their success. They also say schools need to identify student behaviors that could offer greater understanding and help them save lives.

Gordon Smith is a former U.S. senator from Oregon. He became a suicide prevention activist² after his son, Garrett, took his own life in 2003 while attending college.

“If you don’t collect the data, you’re doing half the job,” Smith told the Associated Press. “We need information in mental health if we’re actually going to be able to better tailor health and healing.”

The universities that do not keep records of student suicides include some of America’s largest. They include Arizona State University in Phoenix⁴ and the University of Wisconsin in Madison, or UW-Madison.

News reports say the two schools have dealt with student suicides in the recent past, including two at Arizona State in 2017. University of Wisconsin health officials said they are finishing work on a recordkeeping system to follow the causes of student deaths.

Agustina Marconi, a specialist on disease, works at the University of Wisconsin. In a written statement, she said, “We will create a … model to accurately⁵ document all student deaths at UW-Madison… Our findings … will benefit other universities moving forward.”

The issue of suicide has gained greater attention nationwide as some schools report today’s students are arriving less prepared for college life. The American Psychological Association and other groups have called this a mental health crisis. And many schools have increased spending on mental health services to fight it.

Studies have found increasing rates of anxiety and depression among college students. But some experts say the problem only appears to be worsening. They say this is because students who might have said or done nothing in the past are making use of the increasing availability of help.

Ben Locke operates a mental-health group called the Center for Collegiate Mental Health. He also leads the counseling center at Pennsylvania State University.

“It’s unfortunate that people are characterizing this … as a crisis,” Locke said. “It’s … criticizing the exact people we’ve encouraged to come forward.”

Research shows that young adults in college have lower suicide rates than those who are not college students. But most college students are also at an age when mental health issues like schizophrenia often start to develop.

U.S. government health officials have sought to support data collection efforts as part of a special program named after Gordon Smith’s son. The program has given $76 million to more than 230 colleges and universities since 2005.

Schools have also separately spent millions of dollars on their own. They often add programs that teach life skills and train school employees to identify students in need.

The U.S. Department of Education has urged colleges and universities to collect data on student deaths. But it does not ask the schools to identify suicide deaths. And there are things that make them less likely to keep such records.

First, it is often difficult to confirm the cause of death. In addition, medical examiners do not always tell universities when a cause is identified. There are concerns about who is legally responsible for a death. Also, some families choose to keep the details of their child’s death private. And not every school that collects this data counts suicides that happen off their grounds or during breaks.

In addition, if the statistics become public, some schools fear it could damage their public image.

Nance⁶ Roy is with the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit group that works with U.S. colleges and high schools on suicide prevention. Roy said “No school wants to be known as a school with multiple suicides. It’s not good for business.”

Activists in at least three states -- New Jersey⁷, Pennsylvania and Washington -- have pushed to require universities to collect suicide data. But they have yet to have any success.

National studies have found that suicide rates are rising in the United States. For every 100,000 Americans, 13 take their own lives. Among those ages 15 to 24, the number is 12.5 for every 100,000.

Much of this data comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which does not keep records of college suicides.

I’m -Dorothy Gundy. And I'm Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

statistic(s) – n. a number that represents a piece of information, such as information about how often something is done or how common something is

regularly – adv. very often

data – n. facts or information used usually to calculate, analyze⁸, or plan something

tailor – v. to make or change something so that it meets a special need or purpose

accurately – adv. done in a wat that is free from mistakes or errors

benefit – v. to be useful or helpful to someone or something

anxiety – n. fear or nervousness about what might happen

counseling – n. advice and support that is given to people to help them deal with problems and make important decisions

characterizing – v. describing the character or special qualities of (someone or something

encourage(d) – v. to make someone more likely to do something

schizophrenia – n. a very serious mental illness in which someone cannot think or behave normally and often experiences delusions

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

5 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

6 nance   

n.娘娘腔的男人，男同性恋者

参考例句：

• I think he's an awful nance.我觉得他这个人太娘娘腔了。
• He doesn't like to be called a nance.他不喜欢被叫做娘娘腔。

7 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

8 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。