Kids and Health Care: Mental Health Care is Important

Just as health care in general pays dividends when given to young people, mental health care -- so often not covered by managed care plans -- is cost-effective for kids.

According to a report in the March 2004 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, suicide attempts declined by 40 percent among high school students exposed to mental health programs.

The study looked at one such program -- the SOS High School Suicide Prevention Program, created by the nonprofit organization Screening for Mental Health, Inc. It was the first school-based suicide prevention program to show a reduction in suicidal behavior in a randomized, controlled study.

The study included 2,100 students at five schools in Connecticut and Georgia.

As well as a reduction in attempted suicides, students enrolled in the program showed a greater knowledge of, and more adaptive attitudes about, depression and suicide.

SOS combines two suicide prevention strategies -- depression screening and education about suicide and mental illness -- into a single, quick and inexpensive program.