Risk and Protective Factors for Suicidal Behaviors Among Pacific Youth in New Zealand.

BACKGROUND: New Zealand has the second highest youth suicide rate in the OECD and particularly among Pacific New Zealanders, who have a threefold higher risk of suicide attempt compared with the general population. AIMS: Protective and risk factors for suicide attempts among New Zealand Pacific adolescents were assessed using data from Youth'12, an adolescent health and well-being survey. METHOD: This randomly selected nationally representative sample of New Zealand secondary school students included 1,445 Pacific high school students aged 12-17 years. RESULTS: One in 10 (11.6%) Pacific adolescents reported attempting suicide. Risk factors for suicide included: being female, household food insecurity, low levels of family connections and family monitoring, life dissatisfaction, having a religious affiliation, and previous suicide by a family member or friend. Of those who had made a suicide attempt, 71% also experienced both suicide ideation and self-harm. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that given the high rates of suicide ideation and attempts among Pacific young people, targeted trials for new ways of support should be prioritized for this high-risk group. The Pacific family environment, which continues to be the critical space for intervening, and the school environment, as a provider of health services, were both protective of suicide attempt.

Facilitating access to effective and appropriate care for youth with mild to moderate mental health concerns in new zealand.

PROBLEM: Youth with mild-moderate mental health concerns often go unrecognized, and find access to and the navigation of support services difficult. METHODS: A quasi-experimental pre-/postintervention design was used to explore the impact of facilitated access to free counseling support using the following outcome measures: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Substance Abuse Choices Scale (SACS), Children's Global Assessment Scale (C-GAS), alongside consumer feedback questionnaires. FINDINGS: A total of 581 culturally diverse youth aged 10-24 completed the intervention. Those who completed reported significant improvements in global social and psychiatric functioning measured by C-GAS (p < .001); reduced risk of clinically significant mental health concerns measured by SDQ (p < .001); and reductions in the use and impact of drugs/alcohol measured by SACS (p < .001). Participants and their families/whanau reported that the interventions were safe and appropriate, with perceived increased skill development around coping and communication. CONCLUSIONS: This intervention appears to be an effective and acceptable strategy, particularly for Maori youth and those from lower socioeconomic groups, to reduce mild to moderate mental health symptoms and concerns. This approach could be replicated by other communities wishing to reduce mental health burden for youth by facilitating access to free, culturally appropriate, and accessible counseling via a multidisciplinary and collaborative triage approach.