High School Massacre Opens Eerie Door For Preventive Mental Health

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The writing is on the wall and the messages are hauntingly clear: when it comes to childhood violence, prevention is the clarion call. The latest well-publicized evidence of this is the mass murder of 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., last week at the hands of two teenagers who took their own lives as well.

For mental health communicators, this brand of youth violence opens eerie doors, calling for more aggressive education about "warning signs," community intervention and increased access to preventive mental health services. And as with any other pattern of disturbing behavior, the media is getting more sophisticated about its coverage - especially where mental health is concerned.

Unlike the media coverage of other recent schoolyard shootings in Pearl, Miss., West Paducah, Ky., Jonesboro, Ark., and Springfield, Ore., coverage of the Littleton attacks has been more focused on mental health messages, says Leeann McNee, director of community education at the National Mental Health Association (NMHA). She deems it a mixed blessing.

"Unfortunately the media is getting good at its coverage of the mental health issues. This time reporters immediately contacted us for psychological profiles and tips for how parents should talk to their children about [violence prevention]. In the [Pearl, Miss.] case, it took the media at least three or four days to focus on the bigger mental health issues."

To respond to the heightened appetite for information about mental health opportunities, NMHA positioned itself early on as a key resource. The night of the Littleton shooting, NMHA fired off a press release on the need for increased mental health services in schools and the $100 million funding from the U.S. Center for Mental Health Services, the Department of Education and the Department of Justice earmarked to help school districts develop mental health and prevention services.

NMHA then followed up with messages that focused on tips and advice for parents on broaching the difficult subject of school violence with their children. The suggestions include:

  • Talk honestly about the incident, without graphic detail.
  • Encourage children to talk about their concerns and to express their feelings.
  • Limit television viewing for younger children, especially those of preschool age.

    Schools Are Tapped Out

    While schools are and should be a significant focus of violence prevention outreach, schools can't be expected to provide a community with a "one-stop" solution. Community intervention has to be broad-based and tap into several outreach channels beyond schools, says Shalini Madan, NMHA's associate director of prevention. Key examples include:

  • local chapters of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, which has a program for youth violence prevention;
  • local mental health centers; and

  • the Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health.
    (In an upcoming HPRMN issue we will profile a successful youth violence prevention program.)

    Although prevention is often the emphasis, not much extensive data is available on what's working, which makes funding programs difficult and keeps public health professionals frustrated. NMHA's National Prevention Clearinghouse is addressing this lack of research by maintaining a database of violence preventive programs across the nation.

    'Warning Signs'

    One of the challenges of targeting youth with violence prevention messages is finding compelling ways to communicate with them in "their own language." By teaming up with MTV, the cable network well known for delivering a captive young audience, the American Psychological Association is hoping to make giant strides in this direction. The "Warning Signs" project is the first major piece of programming in MTV's pro-social 1999 campaign "Fight for Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Violence."

    The first segment aired Thursday, April 22, and focused on teaching young people the early warning signs of violent behavior. APA and MTV also co-produced a "Warning Signs" brochure that features tips and advice on recognizing when a peer might pose a danger to themselves or others. The guide is posted on APA's web site, http://www.apa.org, and can be obtained by calling the 800/268-0078. Since the show aired, the APA received more than 6,500 calls for brochures and thousands of e-mails requests, according to Jennifer Zabriskie, an APA spokesperson. The program will air 12 times within the late-April to mid-May timeframe.

    At the community level, APA psychologists are facilitating community youth forums on violence nationwide.

    This is a topic that is weighing heavily on the minds of young people. The APA found that 40 percent of youth polled say they have been concerned about a potentially violent classmate. In addition, 71 percent say they want to learn the warning signs of violent behavior. The study, conducted last month, polled approximately 1,000 children.

    While the MTV partnership is considered to be one of the most "in your face" ways to drive the violence prevention message home with youth, APA PR manager Pamela Willenz contends that youth violence has to be attacked on several levels using long-term communication strategies that target multiple audiences.

    "You can't just look at the parents or the children," she says. "You have to look at the whole process. The kids [in Colorado] were going down a disturbing path months or possibly years before [the tragedy that ensued]."

    (NMHA, Leeann McNee, 703/838-7548; APA, Pamala Willenz, 202/336-5700; APA, Jennifer Zabriskie, 310/274-8787, ext. 121)

    Fast Facts About Mental Health And Youth

  • About one in five children suffer from diagnosable mental, emotional or behavioral disorders.
  • Less than one-third of children under the age of 18 with a serious emotional disturbance receive mental health services.

  • Community-based integrated systems of care - funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - have been shown to reduce contact with the juvenile justice system by 46 percent.
    Source: NMHA

    Model Strategies For Youth Outreach

    Here are the key components in developing effective youth violence prevention initiatives:

  • Target children who are known to be vulnerable: those with genetically-linked mental illness, physical illness or disability, or with a history of family disruption or instability.
  • Develop messages that help kids cope more effectively with predictable or unpredictable life stresses. Younger children tend to respond to broader, more generic programs; older children require a more specific, tailored focus.
  • Target multiple social systems with prevention messages, including schools, families, peer groups, the community and media.
  • Demonstrate a long-term commitment to community intervention - a onetime program cannot make a significant impact.

  • Source: NMHA

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