When Parents Talk about Prescription Drug Abuse, Kids Listen (Even If They Pretend Not To)

From Children's Safety Network

In the age of smartphones, teens are so immersed in media that it may seem hard to get their attention. SAMHSA recently found that one in five parents of teens didn’t think they had much influence on whether their teen used substances. Even worse, one in ten parents of teens hadn’t spoken to their child about substance use within the past year.

The thing is – parents actually do play a huge role in whether their children end up abusing substances. Kids who learn about the dangers of prescription drug abuse from their parents were significantly less likely to use substances than those who did not.

Click here to read the blog post and see the infographic from Promote Prevent

Covering Suicide Deaths in the Media

Recent high profile suicides have received significant media attention, and some of this coverage is concerning to public health advocates hoping to prevent incidences of suicide contagion.

For more information about how suicides should be covered in the media, you can learn more from the literature review done by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  Their two-page Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide provides great tips for the media to follow whenever discussing a suicide death, including the Do's and Don'ts listed in the image at the right.

Please share these recommendations widely to be sure that suicides are reported appropriately.

A Student's Suicide Death Prompts Policy Changes at CSU

Suicide prevention advocates were pleased to hear that the Colorado State University (CSU) implemented policy changes targeted at reducing suicides after the loss of a student. Though encouraging individual students or their friends to seek help during times of crisis is an important part of prevention, research demonstrates that policy or systems changes can have a broader impact to reduce suicide rates.

The CSU policy changes include accompanying students to their new residence when a mid-year living situation change has been instituted. Additionally, campus staff will now check in on the student within 24 hours of the move to assure a smooth transition.

"CSU Student's October Suicide Prompts Policy Changes" from The Coloradoan

Addressing Rx Drug Abuse in Rural Communities

From Aspen Daily News

Opiate addiction, treatment on the rise in the valley

At least three have died due to overdoses of heroin, painkillers in the past year

At least three Roaring Fork Valley residents have died in the past year from either heroin or painkiller overdoses, and the Aspen Valley Hospital emergency department has treated more opiate-related cases in 2013 than in the past two years combined.

The deaths, two from heroin and one from prescription medication, occurred throughout the upper and midvalley. The average age of the deceased was 30 years old, according to law enforcement records.

Heroin use “in general in Colorado is definitely on the upswing,” said Jim Schrant, the agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Grand Junction office, on Monday. “Denver has always had a significant heroin issue, and now we’re seeing it more in the Grand Junction and Durango areas.”

Gender Roles and Movies

Watching a brilliant TED Talk by Colin Stokes, director of communications for the non-profit Citizen Schools, about how movies teach manhood, I was struck by the resonance of this topic to the focus of the Sexual Violence Prevention (SVP) Program at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Stokes argues that our movies have taught girls how to defend against patriarchy, but there are no models for boys to defend against the same patriarchy. Female protagonists in movies exemplify leadership through friendship and teamwork. (There are not enough of these examples, but that’s another story).  Male protagonists in movies exemplify leadership through individual feats of violence that lead to a prize (i.e. a quiet woman who has limited friends and influence).

This singularly modeled path of male leadership has rarely included collaboration, non-violent confrontations, or meaningful relationships with women. And these messages matter. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2010 found that one in five women surveyed had been raped or experienced an attempted rape at some point in their lives.[1] Research shows that acceptance of violence in general is consistently associated with sexual violence.[2] How do young boys reconcile these two realities: the world of movies where violence is glorified for male characters and their real life relationships?

The state public health department’s SVP Program funds nine community based agencies throughout Colorado to implement a comprehensive prevention strategy focused on increasing protective factors and decreasing risk factors related to sexual violence.  A primary focus of the SVP Program is engaging boys and young men to build healthy relationships based on respect. Here is a glimpse at a few of the innovative approaches of funded agencies.

PROGRAM	LOCATION	APPROACH
Bright Future Foundation	Avon	EmpowerMENT – empower middle school male students to utilize leadership and bystander skills through mentorship.
Colorado Anti-Violence Program	Denver	Branching Seedz of Resistance – promoting media literacy, positive youth engagement and leadership for LGBTQ youth
The Conflict Center	Denver	Social Norms Campaign – identifying gaps between actual and perceived norms of acceptable behavior.
Full Circle of Lake County	Leadville	Boys Council – high school boys learn to make positive choices; express ideas; work as a team; and strengthen resiliency.
SARA, Inc.	Fort Morgan	Safe Dates – teach middle school youth healthy relationship skills.
Sisters of Color United for Education	Walsenburg	Promotor@ Training – Latino high school youth trained on strict gender roles and link to healthy sexuality.
Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence (SPAN)	Boulder	Peers Building Justice – empower high school youth to identify healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviors.
Summit County Government – Youth & Family Services	Frisco	Boys Council – middle school boys learn to make positive choices; express ideas; work as a team; and strengthen resiliency.
Tu Casa	Alamosa	Safe Dates – teach high school youth healthy relationship skills.

In the words of Oscar Wilde, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” These SVP-funded agencies are working hard to create a different narrative; one that includes healthy relationships, mutual respect and the opportunity for collaboration.

-By Tomei Kuehl, Sexual Violence Prevention Program Coordinator

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[1] Black, M.C., Basile, K.C., Breiding, M.J., Smith, S.G., Walters, M.L., Merrick, M.T., Chen, J., & Stevens, M.R. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010 Summary Report. Atlanta, GA: National

Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

[2] Sears, H., Byers, S. & Price, L. (2007). The co-occurrence of adolescent boys’ and girls’ use of psychologically, physically, and sexually abusive behaviors in their dating relationships. Journal of Adolescence, 30, 487-504.

Gun suicides outnumber motor vehicle fatalities in Colorado for the first time

From CU NewsCorp as reported in the Boulder Daily Camera

Gun deaths have outpaced motor vehicle fatalities in Colorado since 2009, but data from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment indicate the state has passed yet another milestone in death statistics.

For the first time in 2012, suicides by firearm alone surpassed motor vehicle fatalities, with 457 Coloradans dying in fatal car crashes and 532 taking their own lives using guns.

Gun suicides experienced their biggest increase in the past 12 years between 2011 and 2012, jumping up nearly 20 percent. Experts say many of these deaths are preventable, but that prevention requires framing suicide as a public health issue, not an insular problem.

Damage from Concussions Could Last Up To Four Months, Study Finds

From Children's Safety Network

The dangers of getting a concussion while playing sports has dominated the headlines over the past few weeks. First, several former NFL players admitted they had been diagnosed with CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a progressive neurological disease thought to result from taking chronic hits to the head, including concussions. Days later, ESPN reported that between 2010 to 2012, Pop Warner youth football saw 23,612 kids stop participating, likely due to the mounting concerns that the sport leads to harmful concussions.
A new study from Neurology suggests that the damage incurred from a concussion takes longer to heal than expected -- a full four months in some cases. Though the study was small and is only preliminary, the results may have implications for how soon players are able to return to play after suffering a tough hit.

Click here for the news story from Huffington Post
Click here for the abstract from Neurology