Does Rancho Cucamonga have a problem with teen suicide? – Daily Bulletin

Rancho Cucamonga Few minors have committed suicide over the past decade, but Chaffey Joint Union High School District officials do not have accurate data on how many students may consider suicide. suicide.

IN September AND OctoberTwo Los Osos High School students committed suicide on Highway 210 at Haven Avenue. Death echoes four deaths in autumn 2018when three students from the Chaffey District and one high school student from the Alta Loma Elementary School District committed suicide.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2021. suicide was the second leading cause of death among Americans aged 10 to 14 and the third leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 24.

According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, there are typically few such deaths. Over the past five years, the coroner’s office has not ruled any of the juvenile deaths reported in Rancho Cucamonga as suicides:

2014: 0 suicides
2015: 0 suicides
2016: 0 suicides
2017: 2 suicides
2018: 3 suicides
2019: 1 suicide
2020: 1 suicide
2021: 0 suicides
2022: 0 suicides
2023: 1 suicide
2024, as of October 21: 2 suicides

Estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2022, approximately 44,207 people aged 19 and under lived in Rancho Cucamonga. According to the California Department of Education, The Chaffey district has approximately 22,628 students from Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario and Montclair.

Following the 2018 deaths, the Southern California News Group analyzed data from California School Climate, Health and Learning Surveysthat serve approximately 70% of students in the state’s 1,026 public school districts.

One CalSCHLS survey, aimed exclusively at ninth- and 11th-grade students as well as non-traditional high school students, asks students – who answer questions anonymously – whether they have seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months. During the 2013-14 and 2016-17 school years approximately 18% of high school students surveyed in California public school districts had suicidal thoughts. These numbers roughly matched those available at both the state and national levels.

However, it is unclear how many students in the Chaffey district feel the same. This is because while districts are required to collect school climate data, there is no requirement to use CalSCHLS or similar surveys.

The Chaffey district is not distributing CalSCHLS surveys in favor of a home-made survey that does not ask students about suicidal thoughts.

According to Jessica Kachaenchai, the district’s assistant superintendent for instructional services, this is by design.

“Because these surveys are completed anonymously, including such a question poses significant ethical and practical challenges,” Kachaenchai wrote in an email. “One of the main concerns is that if a student were to report suicidal thoughts, the anonymity of the survey would make it difficult or impossible to identify the student, follow up, and provide immediate support.”

Instead, the district’s survey gathered “broad views on the district’s climate and culture, particularly how well we are doing in supporting a sense of safety, belonging, access to mental health resources and other related topics,” Kachaenchai wrote .

District staff ask if students are experiencing suicidal thoughts when assessing students in crisis or when evaluating them for other mental health supports.

The percentage of teenagers who consider suicide is already well known, Kachaenchai wrote.

“Instead, we focus on proactive and preventive measures to address suicidal thoughts and have protocols in place to respond when students indicate they are experiencing suicidal thoughts,” she concluded.

According to John Blosnich, an assistant professor in the Department of Social Change and Innovation at the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, anonymously asking students about suicidal thoughts is a common practice. Blosnich also serves on the Los Angeles County Child and Youth Suicide Review Team, which analyzes data trends and makes recommendations for suicide prevention in the county.

“The CA Health Kids survey asks this question. The CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey also includes this item. “For adults, the National Survey of Drug Use and Health asks about suicidal thoughts that occurred in the past year,” Blosnich wrote in an email.

“If we don’t ask, we won’t know,” he added. “In this field, it is not considered unethical to ask questions about suicidal thoughts without being able to trace the person.”

According to Blosnich, standard practice for people conducting surveys and asking about suicidal thoughts or attempts is to provide all respondents with suicide prevention measures.

“In my opinion, asking about suicidal thoughts and not providing resources would be unethical,” he said. “But I think asking questions is an essential function of public health for the health of communities.”

Using high-level data to get a sense of what’s going on, as the Chaffey district does, “may not give the most accurate picture of what’s happening at a particular school,” Blosnich added.

But trying to get all parties right and prevent more teen suicides is difficult, he concluded.

“I empathize that (the district) is in a difficult position,” he wrote. “Suicide is incredibly complex.”

How to get help

If you or someone you know are considering suicide or self-harm, mental health resources are available, including free and low-cost services. These include: