WVU Professor of Psychology organizes suicide prevention program for local High Schools

Morgantown, WV, October 20, 2006:  Recent events in high schools across the country have shown an increasing need for the evaluation of student well-being and safety.

Graduate students in West Virginia University’s Department of Psychology are undertaking a new community outreach program on suicide prevention in area public schools. The program is led by Dr. William Fremouw, professor of psychology in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and director of WVU’s Quin Curtis Center.

Qualified psychology graduate students and faculty, in cooperation with school nurses, screened 515 Morgantown High School freshmen last week. With parental consent, the high school students were given an 11-item self-report that assessed current depression. Item topics included loss of interest in activities, drug and alcohol use, suicidal thoughts, and playing the “choking game” with peers. There were no “trick” questions; each question asked what it appeared to be asking, also known as face validity.

Students who were measured as having the highest risk were interviewed individually and referred for counseling. Those who measured as having a moderate risk were invited to participate in a six-week, in-school program designed to teach stress management techniques and encourage peer support. Techniques students will learn include problem solving, relaxation, and the use of positive peer relationships to cope with stress. Students will only participate with parental consent.

Next semester, the same program will be implemented at University High School.

Dr. William Fremouw earned his Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts in 1974. After an internship at the University of Rochester Medical School, he joined the WVU faculty in 1975. He has authored over 65 publications, including a book on the assessment of suicide. He currently serves as chair of the West Virginia Psychology Peer-Consultation Committee and teaches courses in forensic psychology, ethics, legal issues, and psychopathology.

The Quin Curtis Center is a psychological service, training, and research center that provides innovative, time-efficient treatments for clients with a variety of problems. Mental health services include treatment of anxiety, trauma, depression, eating disorders, and childhood behavior problems, all under the supervision of licensed psychologists.

All procedures were performed only after receiving parental consent. For more information, please contact Dr. William Fremouw at William.Fremouw@mail.wvu.edu.

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