Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention: 

Evidence & Implications 

A White Paper 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

This white paper was prepared for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 

(SAMHSA) by the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA, under contract number [27003-0009TK002] 

with the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, SAMHSA, U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS). It was reviewed and revised by Theodora Fine, M.A., under a purchase order 

implemented by the SAMHSA Office of Communications and Jorielle Brown, Ph.D., the Government 

Project Officer. 

DISCLAIMER 

The views, opinions, and content of this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect 

the views, opinions, or policies of SAMHSA or HHS. 

PUBLIC DOMAIN NOTICE 

All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without 

permission from SAMHSA. Citation of the source is appreciated. However, this publication may not be 

reproduced or distributed for a fee without the specific, written authorization of the Office of 

Communications, SAMHSA, and HHS. 

ELECTRONIC ACCESS AND COPIES OF PUBLICATION 

This publication may be downloaded at www.samhsa.gov/shin. Or, please call SAMHSA’s Health 

Information Network at 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727) (English or Español). 

RECOMMENDED CITATION 

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention: Evidence and 

Implications—A White Paper. DHHS Pub. No. SMA-08-4352. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and 

Mental Health Services Administration, 2008. 

ORIGINATING OFFICE 

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 

1 Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857 DHHS Publication No. SMA-08-4352, 2008. 
Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention: Evidence and Implications 

A White Paper 

CONTENTS

Introduction 1 

Suicide: A National, Preventable Public Health Problem 2 

Epidemiology 3 

Moving Toward Recognition 6 

Suicide and Substance Use Disorders 9 

Substance Use Disorders and Suicide: The Big Picture 10 

Alcohol 10 

Drugs 11 

Co-occurring Disorders 11 

Adopting a Public Health Approach to Prevent Suicide and Behavioral Disorders 15 

The Power of a Public Health Approach 15 

Defining a Public Health Approach and Prevention 16 

Identifying and Responding to Factors For and Against Suicide and Behavioral Health Issues 17 

Developing and Implementing Programs 18 

Suicide Prevention-Related Evidence-Based Practices and Programs 22 

Appendices 27 

References 28 

Suicide Prevention Policy A Federal Chronology 33 

Resources 38 

National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Mentions of Substance Abuse 42 

TABLES AND FIGURES

Figure 1: Death Rates for Suicide by Sex, 1950-2004 3 

Table 1: Suicide by Sex and Method 4 

Figure 2: Suicides by Age and Sex, 2005 5 

Figure 3: Suicides Suicides by Race and Sex, 1950-2004 5 

Figure 4: Co-occurrence of Severe Psychological Distress and Substance Use 

Disorder in the Past Year among Adults, Aged 18 or Older with Both Severe 

Psychological Distress and Substance Use Disorder: 2006 11 

Figure 5: Past Year Treatment among Adults, Aged 18 or Older with Both Severe 

Psychological Distress and Substance Use Disorder: 2006 13 

Figure 6: The Mental Health Intervention Spectrum 16 

2 
INTRODUCTION

Almost a decade ago, then-Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, issued a Call to Action to Prevent 

Suicide (1999) as the first step toward adoption of a National Strategy on Suicide Prevention and the 

acknowledgement of suicide as an issue of public health concern and for national action. Recognizing that 

each year, over 30,000 individuals of all ages, races and ethnicities lose their lives by suicide in the U.S., 

Dr. Satcher observed that the “difference between knowing and doing can be fatal.” Pointing out that 

“...even the most well considered plan accomplishes nothing if it is not implemented,” he urged action to 

advance the Report’s 15 key recommendations focused on awareness, intervention and methodology. 

The Call to Action called for the implementation of strategies to reduce the stigma associated not only 

with suicidal behavior and mental illnesses, but also with substance abuse disorders. It urged that 

resources be enhanced for suicide prevention programs and for mental and substance abuse disorder 

assessment and treatment. Moreover, it recommended that health care provider capacity be enhanced to 

better recognize and either refer or treat depression, substance abuse and other major mental illnesses 

associated with suicide risk. 

Since publication of the Call to Action, considerable necessary progress has been made, thanks to a 

confluence of concerted action by policymakers, administrators, researchers, clinicians, and families 

touched by suicide. The body of scientific knowledge about suicide prevention and intervention has 

grown markedly. Increasing numbers of evidence-based programs have been taking their place in the 

realm of best practices. The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act has resulted in the implementation of grant 

programs focused on youth suicide prevention in communities and on college campuses around the 

country. The Suicide Prevention Lifeline network of over 125 call centers is reaching out to reduce 

suicides one call at a time, including from populations at elevated risk, such as our nation’s returning 

veterans. The Suicide Prevention Resource Center is facilitating dissemination of awareness messages 

and primary care education, giving the public and practitioners better suicide prevention tools than ever 

before. 

However, needed progress is not the same as sufficient progress. One of the critical issues that require 

further exploration and attention is the role of substance abuse in the interplay of factors that result in a 

greater risk for suicidal behaviors. This document focuses on the current state of knowledge at the 

intersection of suicide and substance abuse. The first section focuses on the epidemiology of suicide itself 

and presents a brief history of the growing focus on suicide as a public health issue of significant concern. 

The second section provides an overview of what we know and do not know of the impact of substance 

abuse—including both drugs and alcohol—on suicide risk. It also acknowledges the critical 

interrelationships among substance abuse, mental illness and suicide risk. The final section of the 

document explores suicide prevention within the public health context of behavioral health promotion and 

illness prevention. This document marks a first step toward greater knowledge. It soon will be 

supplemented by a far more extensive consensus-built Treatment Improvement Protocol on substance 

abuse and suicide. 

Despite the progress, much more remains to be done if we are to respond to the public health imperative 

posed by continuing high rates of suicide in the nation. It is time to end continued stovepipe approaches to 

prevention and treatment; it is time to change the focus from an acute care model of health care. 

Moreover, it is time to implement a more integrated, public health-oriented approach to suicide 

prevention—one that takes into account the role of substance abuse disorders as well as mental illnesses 

and genetic, social and environmental factors, that takes in the continuum of care from prevention through 

long-term intervention. 

1 
SUICIDE: A NATIONAL, PREVENTABLE PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven. 

—John Milton 

Suicide is not a new phenomenon; it is centuries old. In some cultures, death by suicide was considered 

honorable; in others, it was considered immoral, a crime. Whether revered or reviled, suicide robs 

families, communities and societies around the world of thousands of its members each year. In a single 

year, in the United States alone, suicide was responsible for the deaths of over 32,000 people of all ages 

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2007) and cost an estimated $11.8 billion in lost income 

(Goldsmith et al. 2002). 

Efforts to understand suicide, also, are not new. The 19th century sociologist, Emile Durkheim 

(1897/1951), wrote about the social context that may lead to suicide. However, like mental illnesses, 

substance abuse and other poorly understood illnesses such as cancer, suicide was a taboo topic for most 

people. Public health attention was on the prevention and treatment of better-understood, more visible 

acute illnesses across the population. For all of the damage to individuals and families, communities and 

economies, only in the past decade have suicide—and the mental and substance use disorders to which 

the vast majority of suicide can be attributed—become visible on the public health radar screen (U.S. 

Public Health Service 1999a, 1999b, 2001; New Freedom Commission on Mental Health 2003). 

Over the past decade, the situation has been changing for the better, in part, due to the growing public 

health approach to suicide prevention (U.S. Public Health Service 1999a; New Freedom Commission on 

Mental Health 2003; Mann et al. 2005). By moving the dial from an individual-by-individual approach to 

a population-based systems approach, suicide, increasingly, has been recognized as the product of the 

complex interaction of multiple factors—some biological and some environmental—spanning the sociocultural, interpersonal, psychological, genetic, and neurological spectra (U.S. Public Health Service 2001; 

Goldsmith et al. 2002). As a result of this growing understanding, knowledge and education are being 

spread across the public and among health professionals. Science is amassing an expanded knowledge 

base of complex factors that may lead to suicide and a greater understanding of the best ways to identify 

and intervene among those at risk. The critical role of mental illnesses in the mix of factors precipitating 

suicide attempts and completions has been well established in the literature (Moscicki 2001; U.S. Public 

Helath Service 2001; Goldsmith et al. 2002; Goldston, 2004). More recently, the impact of both alcohol 

and drug abuse on suicide risk—particularly when accompanied by mental illness—has been gaining 

greater traction in the literature as well. (See references). 

As the next section suggests, however, the pace, has been far too slow for far too many people of all ages, 

races and ethnicities. Due to the social stigma or lack of understanding, many individuals and health care 

providers do not recognize the signs or treat mental disorders with the same urgency as other medical 

conditions. As noted in the National Strategy on Suicide Prevention (2001), suicide remains a preventable 

tragedy for too many in America and around the world. The magnitude of suicide’s impact makes it an 

issue for those engaged in improving the health of the nation and the world. Its relationship to behavioral 

disorders makes the issue of suicide and its prevention critical to the work of those in mental heath care, 

and substance abuse treatment and prevention. 

2 
3 

10BUEpidemiology

In the United States, almost 90 lives are lost to suicide each day, the equivalent of a death by suicide 

every 16 minutes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2007). In 2005 (the most recent year for 

which data are available), suicide accounted for 32,637 deaths among people of all ages, and 31,610 

among adults age 18 and up (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006b). The 11th leading cause 

of death in the United States, suicide was responsible for more deaths in that year than homicide and HIV 

combined (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006a). The human and economic costs of suicide 

ripple outward beyond the individual. In addition to those who die by suicide each year, as many as 

200,000 additional individuals will be affected by the loss of a loved one or acquaintance to suicide 

(Corso et al. 2007). The total lifetime cost of self-inflicted injuries occurring in 2000 was approximately 

$33 billion. This includes $1 billion for medical treatment and $32 billion for lost productivity (Corso et 

al. 2007). Despite growing recognition of suicide as a problem demanding public health attention, overall 

rates of suicide in the U.S. have remained essentially stable for the last half-century (Goldsmith et al. 

2002; National Center for Health Statistics 2008). 

FIGURE 1 

Death Rates for Suicide by Sex, 1950-2004

[Source: National Center for Health Statistics, 2007] 
Population differences in suicide 

Suicide affects everyone, but some groups are at higher risk than others. Suicide rates vary by gender, 

ethnicity and age. Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death for men of all ages and the 16th leading 

cause of death for women (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2005). Men are four times more 

likely than women to die from suicide, representing 78.8% of all U.S. suicides (Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention 2006b). However, three times more women than men report attempting suicide 

(Krug et al. 2002). Firearms, suffocation and poison are by far the most common methods of suicide, 

overall. However, men and women differ in the method used (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

2006b): 

TABLE 1

Suicide by Sex and Method

Suicide by: Males (%) Females (%)

Firearms 57 32

Suffocation 23 20

Poisoning 13 38

[Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006b] 

In addition, suicide rates are high among young people and those over age 65. Among those ages 25-34, 

suicide is the second leading cause of death, behind unintentional injuries. Suicides represent the third 

leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds, nearly 13% of all deaths annually. Gender differences in 

suicide also arise among young people. Almost four times as many males as females ages 15 to 19 died 

by suicide (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006a); more than six times as many males as 

females ages 20 to 24 died by suicide (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006a). Moreover, for 

every suicide completed in the 15 to 24 age group in the U.S., there are 100-200 attempted suicides (Arias 

et al. 2003). 

Suicide rates are highest in old age. Of every 100,000 people ages 65 and older, 14.3 die by suicide. This 

figure is markedly higher than the national average of 10.9 suicides per 100,000 people in the general 

population (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006b). After age 75, the rate of suicide is three 

times higher than average (Mental Health America, 2008). Non-Hispanic white men age 85 or older had 

an even higher rate, with 17.8 suicide deaths per 100,000 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

2006b). Elderly people who die by suicide are often divorced or widowed and suffer from a physical 

illness. 

4 
[Source: National Center for Health Statistics] 

Race and ethnicity also can be factors that contribute to suicide risk. For example, suicide rates among 

American Indian/Alaska Native adolescents and young adults, ages 15-24, are almost two times higher 

than the national average for that age group (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2007). Young 

Indian women have rates of suicide that are two to three times higher than for females in the general 

population (Goldsmith et al. 2002). 

[Source: National Center for Health Statistics, 2007]

5 
65 and up, estimates suggest there is one suicide for every four suicide attempts (Goldsmith et al. 2002). 

Among youth, in 2005, 16.9 percent of U.S. high school students reported they had seriously considered 

attempting suicide during the previous 12 months. More than eight percent reported they actually had 

attempted suicide at least once during the same period (Eaton et al. 2006). College students may be 

particularly vulnerable. The 2006 National College Health Assessment found that 44 percent of the 

students surveyed reported that they “felt so depressed it was difficult to function” during the past year; 

nearly one in 10 said that they had “seriously considered suicide” during the year (American College 

Health Association 2007).

Those who attempt suicide and survive may have serious injuries like broken bones, brain damage or 

organ failure. Also, people who survive often experience depression and other mental health problems. 

The fact of a suicide attempt is a predictor of future, possibly fatal attempts (Moscicki 2001; Goldsmith et 

al. 2002; Eaton et al. 2006; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2007). 

Suicide and the risk for suicide also affect the health of the community. Family and friends of people who 

die by or attempt suicide may feel shame, shock, anger, guilt and depression. The taboo that surrounds 

suicide leads many people to silence at a time when reaching out for assistance is most critical. However, 

the stigma surrounding suicide – like mental and substance abuse disorders before it – is lifting. Suicide 

and the need for suicide prevention, once hardly a matter for public conversation, are becoming a matter 

of public health and public concern. A national poll conducted for the Suicide Prevention Action Network 

(SPAN) USA and Research!America (2006) found that over three-quarters of Americans (78%) believe 

many suicides could have been prevented; four out of five Americans (86%) support the value of a greater 

national investment in suicide prevention. 

These findings suggest the message that suicide is a preventable health problem is being heard and 

heeded, thanks in large part to the confluence of science and policy, program and the power of people. 

Moving Toward Recognition

“If the general public understands that suicide and suicidal behaviors can be 

prevented, and people are made aware of the roles individuals and groups can play in 

prevention, many lives can be saved” 

 – National Strategy for Suicide Prevention 

Over the last decade, policymakers, clinicians, administrators, and public health experts have begun to 

take action against suicide both within the United States and around the world. In 1996, the World Health 

Organization (WHO), recognizing the growing problem of suicide worldwide, urged member nations to 

address suicide in its document Prevention of Suicide: Guidelines for the Formulation and 

Implementation of National Strategies. This Report motivated the Surgeon General to determine in 1999 

that suicide is a public health problem and to issue a Call to Action to Prevent Suicide. It urged 

establishment of a national strategy to prevent suicide, relying on the expertise of the Substance Abuse 

and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

(CDC), the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA), the Indian Health Service (IHS), the 

National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH), and the Office of the Surgeon General, as well as the 

Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network (SPAN USA) and other advocacy and stakeholder organizations. 

Just two years later, in 2001, the first installment of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (NSSP) 

was unveiled. The document established 11 goals and 68 measurable objectives for public and private 

sector involvement to prevent suicides and attempts, as well as to reduce the harmful after-effects they 

have on families and communities. Its goals and objectives laid out a framework for action and a guide 

for the development of an array of services and programs. During the same period, the quasi6 
governmental Institute of Medicine convened two workshops on suicide prevention, leading to the 2002 

publication of its landmark report, Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative. 

These reports, coupled with the final report of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental 

Health, Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America (2003), have helped bring 

attention to the burden of suicide on our nation and the need for concerted prevention initiatives. The 

Commission’s very first recommendation focuses on suicide prevention as a key element of a 

comprehensive mental health system, urging the President to “advance and implement a national 

campaign to reduce the stigma of seeking care and a national strategy for suicide prevention.” 

Critically, three of the 11 goals of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (2001) highlight the role 

that substance abuse increasingly plays as a risk factor for suicide, adding impetus to a growing body of 

knowledge and practice in this important area of suicide prevention. Specifically, 

• Goal Three calls for the development and implementation of “strategies to reduce the stigma 

associated with being a consumer of mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention 

services.” 

• Goal Seven emphasizes the need for effective suicide prevention-related clinical and professional 

practices (from screening through treatment and referral, as warranted) by health care providers, 

including those involved in substance abuse treatment.

• Goal Eight promotes efforts to increase access to and community linkages with mental health and 

substance abuse services. 

Individually, these reports mark important steps toward greater recognition of suicide as a public health 

issue. Taken together, however, the reports provide a roadmap that, if followed, can help ensure that the 

suicide prevention and the behavioral health care communities are working together to save lives. 

That roadmap is being followed, thanks to the growing concern about suicide and suicide prevention that 

has galvanized the Congress, the Federal Executive Branch, and concerned communities, organizations 

and individuals around the country to action. During the 105th Congress, the House and Senate enacted 

resolutions acknowledging suicide as a national problem that warrants a national response (S. Res. 84 and 

H.Res. 212). Since then, Congress has authorized the establishment of and directed funding to several 

suicide prevention programs, including the Garret Lee Smith Memorial Act (PL 108-355) that established 

a series of programs designed to address youth suicide. Building from the NSSP, 46 states have 

developed a suicide prevention plan, many based on the model of the NSSP. The majority of these states 

have developed their plans through coalitions or task forces, most of which include representatives from 

government agencies, suicide survivors, advocates and other concerned individuals. 

As the lead agency charged with implementation of suicide prevention initiatives, SAMHSA has 

supported the establishment of a national toll-free hotline (the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), a 

technical assistance center (the Suicide Prevention Resource Center), and a youth suicide prevention grant 

program for states and colleges (consistent with authority under the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act).

Beginning in 2008, SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health will ask all respondents about 

suicide attempts, whether or not they had previously acknowledged a major depression. This is an 

important step forward in suicide surveillance, promoting greater attention to the interrelationships among 

suicide and substance abuse. Moreover, the Agency also has been supporting the identification, 

development and dissemination of best practices in suicide prevention, focusing on risk and protective 

factors related to suicide—with particular attention to mental health and substance abuse issues affecting 

suicide risk. To that end, SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment is developing a Treatment 

Improvement Protocol to focus on substance abuse and suicide prevention/risk assessment for substance 

abuse service providers. 

7 
The convergence of the data and increased recognition of suicide as a matter for health policy, programs, 

advocacy and education is what makes the issue one of urgent public health priority. The time simply is 

right for action. The role for behavioral health professionals cannot be overstated because the 

interconnections among mental illnesses, substance abuse and suicide, described in the next section of this 

white paper, are at the core of the public health approach to suicide prevention—an approach highlighted 

in the final section of this paper. 

8 
SUICIDE AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS

A focus on the primary prevention of alcohol and drug use disorders and other 

psychopathological disorders associated with suicide, as well as intervention for those 

showing early indication of such disorders, are needed in order to have a meaningful 

impact on the population rate of suicide. 

 -- Wilcox, Conner and Caine (2004, p. S18) 

Suicide has been spotlighted as a national public health issue (U.S. Public Health Service 1999; 

Goldsmith et al. 2002; New Freedom Commission on Mental Health 2003; U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services 2007), and as such, its two most significant risk factors, mental and substance abuse 

disorders, must also be seen in that same light. While 95 percent of individuals with a mental illness 

and/or substance use disorder will never complete suicide, several decades of evidence consistently 

suggests that as many as 90 percent of individuals who do complete suicide experience a mental or 

substance use disorder, or both (Harris and Barraclough 1997; Pages et al. 1997; Moscicki 2001; Conwell 

et al 1996, Molnar et al. 2001 (reported in IOM 2002)). The vast majority experience a mood disorder, 

such as depression (Moscicki 2001); as many as 25 percent experience alcohol abuse disorders (Institute 

of Medicine 2002). Many experience co-occurring mental and substance use disorders. 

Unfortunately, despite ongoing efforts to educate the public, the same social stigma that surrounds suicide 

also continues to stand between many people with mental and substance use disorders and the care they 

need – care that could help thwart potential suicide. According to SAMHSA’s 2006 National Survey on 

Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), of the 23.6 million people aged 12 or older in need of treatment for an 

illicit drug use or alcohol use problem only 2.5 million received treatment at a specialty facility (Office of 

Applied Studies 2007d). In the same year, among the 24.9 million adults aged 18 or older reporting 

serious psychological distress (having a level of symptoms known to be indicative of a mental disorder) 

fewer than half, 10.9 million (44.0 percent), received treatment for a mental health problem (Office of 

Applied Studies 2007d). 

The significant gap between needing and getting care for mental disorders and substance use problems—

and the role both play in suicide—underscore the public health imperative of preventing behavioral health 

problems in the first place where possible, and otherwise identifying and treating them early in their 

course. Independent of each other, mental illnesses, substance abuse and suicide each have a profound 

impact on individuals and families, schools and workplaces, communities and society at large. The human 

and economic costs of these public health problems are significant. When each of these three problems is 

examined separately, it becomes clear that, in many instances and for many individuals, each one is 

related in some way to the other two. Thus, the co-occurrence of mental and substance abuse disorders 

today is the expectation rather than the exception (U.S. Public Health Service 1999; Goldsmith et al. 

2002; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 2002; New Freedom Commission on 

Mental Health 2003). 

The role mental illness plays in suicide risk, attempt and completion has been documented extensively in 

the scientific literature and will not be revisited in this white paper. Thus, the next section explores the 

growing body of evidence being amassed with respect to suicide and substance abuse and the 

interconnections among suicide and mental and substance abuse disorders.

9 
Substance Use Disorders and Suicide: The Big Picture

A growing body of studies has demonstrated that alcohol and drug abuse are second only to depression 

and other mood disorders as the most frequent risk factors for suicide (cited in IOM 2002). Molnar and 

colleagues’ assessment (2001) of data from the National Comorbidity Survey disclosed that alcohol and 

drug abuse disorders are associated with a risk 6.2 times greater than average risk of suicide attempts. 

According to SAMHSA’s Drug Abuse Warning Network latest report on drug-related emergency 

department (ED) visits, in 2005, over 132,500 visits to emergency rooms were for alcohol- or drug-related 

suicide attempts. Substantial percentages of suicide victims tested positive for alcohol or other drugs. The 

most frequently identified substance was alcohol, found in one third of those tested; four other substances 

were identified in approximately 10 percent of tested victims. Illicit drugs were involved in approximately 

one fifth (19%) of the ED visits for drug-related suicide attempts. Over 85 percent of individuals 

associated with these attempts were seriously ill enough to merit admission to a hospital or another health 

care facility (Office of Applied Studies 2007c). 

The Drug Abuse Warning Network also has examined emergency department visits for drug-related 

suicide attempts by youth. In 2004, the most recent year for which data are available, reporting 

emergency departments handled over 15,000 drug-related suicide attempts by youth, ages 12-17, almost 

75 percent of which were serious enough to warrant hospitalization. Around half of all of these suicide 

attempts involved the use of pain medications (Office of Applied Studies 2006a). 

These data do not suggest that all of the individuals who attempted suicide, whether young or adult, were 

experiencing substance abuse disorders; rather the data inform only that alcohol or drugs of abuse were 

used in what was characterized as a suicide attempt. Nonetheless, the sheer numbers are compelling. 

Field-based studies have been ongoing to understand the relationships between substances of abuse and 

suicide. Significant studies have been based on psychological autopsies; only in the last few years have 

increasing numbers of prospective studies been conducted. Research is complicated and sometimes 

confounded by the complex interrelationships among mental and substance use disorders, combined with 

other biological, behavioral, environmental and social factors influencing suicide risk. 

Alcohol

In 1938, Karl Menninger observed that alcohol dependence is a type of chronic suicide (in Hufford 2001). 

His observation has been found to be accurate over the decades during which the relationship between 

suicide and alcohol consumption, alcohol use and alcohol dependence has been studied. As many as onefourth of individuals who die by suicide are intoxicated with alcohol (IOM 2002). 

Today, the literature bearing on the role alcohol plays in suicide risk is considerably more robust than that 

associated with drug abuse and suicide. As Wilcox notes in her 2004 review of the link between drug use 

and suicidal behaviors among adolescents, the association between suicidal behavior and alcohol abuse 

has been long documented, dating back to the 1980s. An extensive body of literature—primarily 

retrospective studies—has established that active alcohol use or abuse is a powerful risk factor for suicide 

(reported in Conner et al. 2000). One of the more significant reasons posited for this association is the 

disinhibition resulting from alcohol use that occurs shortly prior to a suicide attempt (Hufford 2001; 

Wilcox 2004). Hufford’s literature review (2001) suggests alcohol intoxication appears to play a more 

significant role as a proximal, rather than distal, risk factor for suicide. 

10 
11 

However, some caution needs to be exercised regarding the body of published studies bearing on alcohol 

and suicide. Cherpirtel and colleagues (2004) note in their literature review that the majority of studies, 

whether cross-sectional or case-controlled, are subject to several sources of bias due to their focus on 

completed suicide and the tendency to report prevalence estimates. She and her colleagues suggest the 

effectiveness of adopting a case-crossover design to overcome the biases and limitations of existing 

studies. One such case-crossover study, described in an overview by Conner and Chiapella (2003) of a 

workshop on alcohol and suicidal behavior, suggests that the role of acute alcohol in suicidal behavior 

may include promoting depression and hopelessness, impairing problem solving, and facilitating 

aggression.

14BDrugs

As noted earlier, the study of the relationship between drug abuse and suicide risk is substantially less 

ell developed than that of either mental illnesses or alcohol and suicide. As researchers have pointed out 

n their articles beginning in the mid-1990s to this date, relatively little is known about the impact of 

ifferent drugs, drug combinations, substance-induced effects and self-medication on suicidal behavior. 

hat is known is that there is some association between current drug use and suicidal ideation that is not 

ntirely due to the effects of co-occurring mental disorders (Borges et al. 2000). The number of 

ubstances used appears to be more predictive of suicidal behavior than the types of substances used 

Borges et al. 2000; Wilcox 2004). Moreover, based on a few initial studies, it also appears that drug 

buse treatment itself may have the capacity to help reduce the risk for future suicidality (Ilgen et al. 

007). However, in the main, causal relationships between drugs of abuse—both in the aggregate and in 

pecific instances—have not been well established (Erinoff et al. 2004).

w

i

d

W

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s

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15BCo-occurring Disorders

A substantial body of knowledge suggests that substance use – both drugs and alcohol – is associated with 

mental disorders (SAMHSA 2002; Armstrong and Costello, in Golston 2004; Jane-Llopis and Matytsina 

2006). Moreover, some suggest that this linkage may be bidirectional. For example, depression may be 

associated with increased substance use and chronic substance abuse may be a factor in the development 

of depression or other mood disorders (Sinha and Rounsaville 2002). In fact, it has been suggested that 

co-occurring disorders should be considered the expectation rather than the exception by clinicians, and 

should be treated concurrently to be most effective (U.S. Public Health Service 1999; SAMHSA 2002). 

FIGURE 4 

[Source: Office of Applied Studies 2007d]
Further, both mental and substance use disorders are known risk factors for suicide. Secondary analysis of 

combined 2004 and 2005 data from SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) 

sheds light not only on the magnitude of co-occurring mental and substance use disorders, but also on the 

considerable impact they have when they occur together. According to the NSDUH analysis, an estimated 

16.4 million adults, age 18 and older, experienced a major depressive episode in the past year. During 

their worst or most recent experience of major depression, over half thought they would be better off 

dead; over 10 percent attempted suicide. When alcohol abuse or the use of illicit drugs was added to a 

major depressive episode, the proportion of suicide attempts rose to nearly 14 percent for alcohol abuse 

and nearly 20 percent for illicit drug use (Office of Applied Studies 2006b). 

A growing number of case control and longitudinal studies have sought to examine whether substance 

and mental disorders, when co-occurring, exacerbate suicide risk. Moscicki (2002) points out that cooccurrence of mood disorders, in particular in concert with substance abuse, greatly increases the 

likelihood of attempted suicide. Indeed, she suggests that further research is warranted to determine if cooccurrence is a necessary condition for suicide to occur, despite previous findings by Pages and 

colleagues (1997) who found that, independent of depressed mood, alcohol and drug dependency were 

associated with high levels suicidal ideation among 891 hospitalized patients with major depressive 

disorder. 

In contrast to Pages and colleagues, Roy’s (2003) study of suicidality among 449 drug-dependent patients 

found that the 175 who had attempted suicide had greater lifetime comorbidity with major depression 

than the patients who did not attempt suicide. The results, similar to two other studies of drug-dependent 

patients conducted by the same researcher (Roy 2001, 2002), highlight the complicating role distal 

factors, such as childhood abuse and family history of suicide, play in concert with drug abuse and 

depression in suicidality. 

Further, Goldston’s (2004) review of conceptual issues associated with the relationships between suicide 

and substance abuse has clarified that what is not known about these relationships is far greater than what 

is known with certainty. He posits, for example, that both suicide and substance use share a number of 

risk factors – including depression, impulsivity, and thrill-seeking/life-threatening behaviors. As such, 

they ultimately may be related to underlying primary mental health problems (Goldston 2004). Data from 

the National Survey on Drug Use and Health point out the significantly higher rates of illicit drug, 

cigarette and alcohol use among those who experience a major depressive episode in the last year 

compared to those who did not (Office of Applied Studies 2006a, 2006b, 2007a, 2007b, 2007d). Both sets 

of findings suggest the potential use of substances, whether drugs, cigarettes or alcohol, as a means of 

“self-medicating” a mood disorder. Conner and colleagues (2000) have noted that suicide risk remains 

among people in remission from alcohol use; older adults frequently experience ongoing depression and 

younger individuals more subtle forms of mood disorders, such as dysthymia, problems that may have 

given rise to the substance abuse in the first place. 

These findings speak to the need for clinicians to be vigilant about both substance abuse history and 

history of mental health problems among patients being seen for either or both illness. They speak to the 

ongoing need to consider and treat both substance abuse and mental illnesses concurrently in persons with 

co-occurring disorders to help reduce the risk for suicide when one of the co-occurring disorders is left 

untreated. All too often this is a fact of life for people of all ages with both substance use and mental 

disorders. 

12 
[Source: Office of Applied Studies 2007d] 

13 
14 
ADOPTING A PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH TO

PREVENT SUICIDE AND BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS

A skillful doctor cures illness when there is no sign of disease, and thus the disease 

never comes. 

– Liu An, second century Chinese philosopher 

Science has triggered dramatic changes in thinking about behavioral health. Once believed to be 

debilitating, lifelong conditions, mental and substance use disorders are now understood to be as treatable 

as most physical illnesses. Today—given the right combination of treatment and support and a voice in 

decisions concerning their care—individuals with mental and substance use disorders can and do recover. 

Given the significant relationship between suicide and both substance abuse and mental disorders, it 

means that suicide is becoming recognized increasingly as a preventable tragedy. 

However, as Loebel (2005) has pointed out, because suicide is the product of multiple causes, its 

prevention requires broad, multifaceted approaches. Thus, no single effort has proven effective in 

achieving large-scale and long-term reductions in suicide (Loebel 2005). This finding is not dissimilar to 

findings related to other significant health problems, ranging from obesity to substance abuse and from 

mental health problems to heart disease. What is called for is a change in how prevention and treatment 

are approached: a change from a disease-specific focus to one based on a multi-pronged, populationoriented model built on known best practices: a public health model (Caine 2004; Knox et al. 2004). 

The Power of a Public Health Approach

The power of a public health approach to prevent disease and illness and to promote health is significant. 

Efforts that span the community, state and national levels have enhanced the quality of life for millions of 

Americans for more than a century. The use of vaccines, improved sanitation and pure drinking water 

helped curb many acute, often fatal illnesses and contagious diseases of past decades (Bunker et al. 1994; 

Cutler and Mille 2005). Today, the power of prevention is being used to help prevent, delay and reduce 

the severity of more chronic illnesses that take a toll on health, productivity, education, community 

engagement and the quality of life. Increasingly, policy makers and researchers are embracing the public 

health approach as the lens for analyzing and addressing chronic health issues – including suicide, mental 

illness and substance abuse. 

The goal of this public health model is to fundamentally transform our approach to health and illness from 

a disease care system to a health care system that stresses prevention on a par with diagnosis and 

treatment. This approach was infused throughout the Surgeon General’s Call to Action on Suicide and the 

National Strategy on Suicide Prevention as well as New Freedom Commission on Mental Health’s report. 

It is a key element in the work of both the Substance Abuse and Mental Heath Services Administration 

and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prevent illnesses with modifiable risk factors and to 

identify and intervene early. 

With the growing importance of a public health approach, it is instructive to understand its elements and 

how it works and to explore how it is applicable to suicide and substance abuse prevention.

15 
Defining a Public Health Approach and Prevention

A public health approach takes the long view. Its population-based approach examines the link between 

health and the physical, psychological, cultural and social environments in which people live. It focuses 

not only on traditional areas of medicine – diagnosis, treatment and etiology of illness—but also on 

disease surveillance, health promotion, disease prevention and access to and evaluation of treatment 

services (U.S. Public Health Service 1999; Center for Mental Health Services 2007). Thus, it focuses on 

the full gamut of the health-illness continuum – from the promotion of health through the prevention of 

illness and disability, to the treatment and rehabilitation of those affected (Herrman, et al 2005). It seeks 

long-term solutions that are achieved through the application of high-quality, evidence-based care long 

before symptoms and co-occurring conditions are exacerbated. These interventions may be interrelated; 

they may overlap. Under any circumstance, each is a critical ingredient in the public health framework 

(Herrman et al. 2005). Accordingly, prevention becomes as important as treatment. While focusing 

treatment and care on the needs of the individual, a public health model also supports development of 

preventive interventions for the entire population. 

From a population perspective, prevention means providing people with the tools, skills and knowledge 

they need to be healthy. Those tools, skills and knowledge vary based on the level of risk for the 

untoward event occurring in a particular population: universal, selective, and indicated. (See Figure 6, 

below.) While some programs include interventions that address all three of these levels of prevention an

some do not, what is important is that some interventions extend the very definition of prevention itself, 

based on a definition crafted by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and adopted by 

SAMHSA. NIMH (1998) defined prevention to include not only interventions that occur before the initia

onset of a disorder “but also to interventions that prevent comorbidity, relapse, disability, and the 

consequences of severe...illness...” Thus, prevention is seen as spanning the full gamut of the healthillness continuum, with interventions ranging from primary prevention through recovery support. 

d 

l 

[Source: [National Institute of Mental Health, 1998]

16 
The good news is that, in many respects, without regard to the illness or behavior being targeted – 

whether underage drinking, suicide, obesity or heart disease, the principles and the approach remain much 

the same. The components of effective prevention are the same whether the focus is on reducing or 

eliminating the health, psychosocial, and community effects of environmental and biological factors, risktaking behaviors, or poor choices that affect the individual, family and community. Prevention is 

prevention is prevention. 

Thus, whatever its focus, and wherever along the health-illness continuum it operates, a public health 

model follows an ordered, continuous set of steps to promote health and prevent illness: 

• Identify the problem 

• Identify risk and protective factors 

• Develop, implement and test interventions 

• Ensure widespread adoption of evidence-based practices 

Simply put, the problem is the illness, adverse health condition or complex of health problems that needs 

to be prevented. Whether addressing diabetes or heart disease, suicide or drug addiction, the focus is on 

reducing the factors that might lead to those health issues and encouraging adoption of behaviors, 

attitudes and lifestyles that decrease the risks, whether in individuals, families or communities as a whole. 

Research and experience have found that identical, important risk factors (such as extreme economic 

deprivation, academic failure, peer rejection and family conflict) affect a broad array of health issues—

from HIV/AIDS to heart disease, from depression to substance abuse and suicide. Other factors, such as 

strong family bonds and social skills, opportunities for school success, and involvement in community 

activities, can protect against these potential health issues. Comprehensive public health promotion 

strategies seek to affect the multiple risk and protective factors that exist at the individual, peer/family, 

community and societal levels. 

These risk and protective factors are at the very heart of promotion and prevention interventions based on 

the public health model. As noted by Mrazek and Haggerty (1994) in their groundbreaking volume on 

preventive intervention research, “The goal [of prevention programs] is to address malleable, or 

modifiable, risk and protective factors related to the onset of disorders” within the context of the larger 

population, not the individual. Suicide is a remarkable example of the confluence of a broad array of 

biological, behavioral and environmental risk factors: individual psychological traits like impulsiveness 

and hopelessness; interpersonal factors such as relationship loss, social isolation, trauma and violence; 

environmental stressors such as lost wages or economic hardship; and biological factors such as 

behavioral or physical illness or disability (IOM 2001). 

With risk and protective factors known, it becomes possible to develop, test and measure interventions 

that can reduce the factors associated with an increased probability of developing the problem (risk 

factors) and can enhance the factors associated with a decreased probability of developing the problem 

(protective factors).

Identifying and Responding to Factors for and Against Suicide and Behavioral Health Issues

While no specific tests can identify a person who is suicidal, specific risk and protective factors for 

suicide are known and can be identified (Gould et al. 2003). Protective factors include:

• Effective clinical care for mental, physical and substance use disorders 

• Easy access to a variety of clinical interventions and support for help seeking 

• Restricted access to highly lethal means of suicide 

• Strong connections to family and community support 

17 
• Support through ongoing medical and mental health care relationships 

• Skills in problem solving, conflict resolution and nonviolent handling of disputes 

• Cultural and religious beliefs that discourage suicide and support self-preservation (Suicide 

Prevention Resource Center 2008). 

Given the significant number of individuals in need of care 

for mental and substance use disorders who do not receive it, 

the number of individuals who lack regular health care 

providers, and the availability of many highly lethal means of 

suicide to the American public, for too many people these 

protective factors are simply not part of their reality. What 

could have been protective, becomes a risk, of which there 

are many, spanning several dimensions: biopsychosocial, 

environmental and sociocultural. 

Some of the risk factors are more relevant to one age group 

or racial/ethnic subpopulation than another, but many of the 

risk factors are consistent with risk factors for substance 

abuse and mood disorders as well, among them: family 

history, illness or disability, family dysfunction, age-specific 

stressful life events, incarceration, and others (Goldsmith 

2001).

Moreover, both mental and substance use disorders are, 

themselves, risk factors for suicide. Moscicki has suggested 

that one of the most significant environmental interventions 

that could be undertaken to prevent suicide is to reduce 

psychiatric and substance abuse morbidity (in Goldsmith 

2001). By “doing prevention” around these behavioral health 

issues, a number of the specific risk factors for suicide can be 

attacked and, as a corollary, protective factors can be 

strengthened.

Developing and Implementing Programs

Among the most significant issues related to the development 

and implementation of prevention programs—whether to prevent suicide, substance abuse or any other 

health problem—are the need to 

SUICIDE RISK FACTORS 

Biopsychosocial 

• Mental disorders, particularly mood 

disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders 

and certain personality disorders 

• Alcohol and other substance use disorders 

• Hopelessness 

• Impulsiveness and/or aggressiveness 

• History of trauma or abuse 

• Major physical illness 

• Previous suicide attempt 

• Family history of suicide 

Environmental 

• Job or financial loss 

• Relational or social loss 

• Easy access to lethal means 

• Local clusters of suicide with a contagious 

influence 

Socialcultural 

• Lack of social support; sense of isolation 

• Stigma of help-seeking behavior 

• Barriers to accessing health care, 

especially mental health care and 

substance abuse treatment 

• Certain cultural and religious beliefs (for 

instance, the belief that suicide is a noble 

resolution of a personal dilemma) 

• Exposure to (including through the media) 

and influence of others who have died by 

suicide 

[Source: Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 

2008] 

• Adopt an “upstream” approach that brings prevention to the people, with integrated services for 

prevention, assessment, diagnosis and treatment; 

• Identify, adapt and advance specific evidence-based programs to the specific cultural, community 

and developmental norms of program participants. 

Integrated upstream approach

As noted earlier, by focusing on prevention as well as illness, a public health approach involves working 

“upstream” as well as downstream. While health care providers need to keep “rescuing drowning 

individuals,” they also need to move upstream to try to keep people from falling in the river in the first 

place. Such an approach emphasizes connections far different from the stovepipe approach to services in 

an acute care model. 

18 
It values— 

• Connections across disciplines to create a larger context for the care of the whole person and for 

preventive care that can identify and act on risks for suicide early—including attention to both 

substance abuse and mental disorders. 

• Primary care practitioners and behavioral health care providers who look beyond their individual 

disciplines to integrate historically independent and isolated disciplines 

• Connections between the scientific community and the broader public and between the behavioral 

health service community and consumers. 

Above all, this “upstream” approach recognizes that behavioral health is linked inextricably to overall 

health and that integration is valuable and necessary. Greater integration of behavioral health into the 

larger fabric of general health care services can go a long way to reducing the tragedy of suicide. By 

moving upstream and by integrating care across disciplines—particularly by engaging and educating 

primary care providers—the toll taken by excess disability that arises when diagnosis and treatment come 

later along the health-illness continuum can be lowered. 

Delaying or preventing alcohol and drug abuse among young people can forestall more serious illnesses 

and the increased risk for suicide in later life. Similarly, research (Kessler et al. 2005) has shown that a 

five-year window of opportunity among youth for early intervention exists during which identification 

and treatment of a mental health problem forestall subsequent co-occurring substance abuse, suicide risk 

and excess disability. It can yield dividends in terms of educational attainment, reduced involvement in 

the juvenile justice system, reduced risk of potential suicide, and better overall physical health and 

wellbeing as an adult. 

The need for prevention and early intervention to help avoid the risk of adolescent suicide is why the 

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has urged greater involvement by pediatricians and family 

practitioners in assessing suicide risk among their youthful patients. The AAP’s Committee on 

Adolescents has recommended that clinicians ask about risk factors associated with suicide, such as 

depression and substance abuse in routine history-taking throughout adolescents, at both acute care and 

routine care visits (Shain 2007). 

At the same time, it is important to increase vigilance by primary care providers to screen for suicide risk. 

The Institute of Medicine (2002) reports that a majority of people who die by suicide visited a health care 

provider within a year of their deaths; 40 percent had seen a clinician within a month. Mann and 

colleagues (2005) report that other studies suggest 83 percent of those who die by suicide had been in 

contact with a primary care provider within a year and up to 66 percent within a month. The impact of 

inadequate attention to suicide risk factors among those treating older adults is highlighted by chilling 

statistics reported by Loebel (2005). He reports that data strongly suggest that clinicians do not often 

diagnose suicidal intent among their elderly patients and that suicidal older adults frequently consulted 

health care providers (usually primary care physicians) shortly before the suicidal act, sometimes as 

recently as hours before the suicidal act. In one study he cites, 41 percent of persons who died by suicide 

had contact with a health care professional within a month of death, 47 percent within a week and 18 

percent on the day of death. Suicidal intent was discussed in only 22 percent of these meetings. 

The human savings realized by integrated upstream care is matched by economic savings measured in 

reduced hospital stays and lower associated costs. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and 

Quality, almost one in four of all stays in U.S. community hospitals for patients age 18 and older—7.6 

million of nearly 32 million stays—involved mental or substance use related disorders in 2004 (Owens et 

al. 2007). The significant number of hospital stays related to mental and substance use disorders signal the 

19 
need for an increased national effort to identify and intervene early before the conditions require a 

hospital stay. 

These are only a few of the reasons SAMHSA is involved in a number of activities that aim to strengthen 

the capacity of primary care providers to identify, refer, or provide treatment for behavioral disorders and 

to screen routinely for suicide risk. 

Adopting best practices

Research suggests that prevention offers great potential to change lives and save money. However, 

policymakers, administrators, clinicians and the public are demanding that potential needs to be matched 

by demonstrable outcomes. Prevention programs need to demonstrate effectiveness in achieving desired 

outcomes and show a positive cost-benefit. A number of research papers explore the challenges inherent 

in the implementation of evidence-based research practices (Center for Mental Health Services 2007). 

Fixen and colleagues (2005) have noted that implementation of an effective practice can take from 2 to 4 

years to complete, since it takes time to bring provider, process and program to maturity. 

Today, of the more than 50 programs in SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and 

Practices, approximately 10 have relevance to the prevention of suicide and substance abuse. (See below.) 

However, it will take time, dedicated researchers and communities, and motivated policymakers before a 

growing body of effective programs focused at the confluence of suicide and substance abuse prevention 

are assessed and found worthy to take their place in the roster of evidence-based practices and programs. 

The data presented in this paper—and the lives that can be saved through solid preventive interventions—

suggest that the urgency to move this agenda forward is greater than ever. 

20 
21 
SUICIDE PREVENTION-RELATED EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES AND PROGRAMS

[Abstracted from SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices]

Title Population Description 

Dialectical Behavior 

Therapy 

Adaptations available 

for suicidal 

adolescents; 

individuals with 

substance use 

disorders; 

Cognitive-behavioral treatment approach 

combining a problem-solving focus and 

acceptance-based strategies. Program emphasizes 

balancing behavioral change, problem-solving 

and emotional regulation with validation, 

mindfulness and acceptance of patients. 

American Indian Life 

Skills Development 

Adolescent youth 

(ages 13-17) 

School-based suicide prevention curriculum 

designed to reduce suicide risk and improve 

protective factors among American Indian 

adolescents 14 to 19 years old. Up to 53 

interactive lessons (on topics such as building 

self-esteem, identifying emotions and stress, 

increasing problem-solving skills, reducing selfdestructive behavior, etc.) are delivered over 30 

weeks during the school year. Teachers deliver 

lessons in collaboration with community resource 

leaders and representatives of local social service 

agencies. Team teaching ensures that the lessons 

have a high degree of cultural and linguistic 

relevance. 

CARE (Care, Assess, 

Respond, Empower) 

[Formerly called 

Counselors CARE and 

Measure of Adolescent 

Potential for Suicide] 

Adolescents; young 

adults (ages 13-17 

and 18-25) 

High school-based suicide prevention program 

targeting high-risk youth. The goals are threefold: 

(1) to decrease suicidal behaviors, (2) to decrease 

related risk factors, and (3) to increase personal 

and social assets. CARE assesses the adolescent's 

needs, provides immediate support, and then 

serves as the adolescent's crucial communication 

bridge with school personnel and the parent or 

guardian of choice. Program (consisting of a 2-

hour, one-on-one computer-assisted suicide 

assessment interview and a 2-hour motivational 

counseling and social support intervention) is 

delivered by school/advanced-practice nurses, 

counselors, psychologists or social workers. It 

also includes follow-up reassessment of broad 

suicide risk and protective factors and a booster 

motivational counseling session 9 weeks after the 

initial counseling session. Although originally 

developed to target high-risk youth in high 

school, its scope has been expanded to include 

young adults (ages 20 to 24) in settings outside of 

schools, such as health care clinics. 

22 
Title Population Description 

CAST (Coping and 

Support Training) 

Adolescent youth and 

young adults (ages 

14-19 and 18-25) 

A high school-based suicide prevention program 

targeting youth, CAST delivers life-skills training 

and social support in a small-group format (6-8 

students per group) through 12 55-minute group 

sessions administered over 6 weeks by trained, 

master's-level high school teachers, counselors or 

nurses. The sessions target three overall goals: 

increased mood management (depression and 

anger), improved school performance, and 

decreased drug involvement. CAST serves as a 

follow-up for youth identified as at significant 

risk for suicide. In the original trials, 

identification of youth was done through the 

CARE program; since then, other evidence-based 

suicide risk screening instruments can be used. 

Cognitive Behavioral 

Therapy for Adolescent 

Depression (CBT) 

Adolescent youth Developmental adaptation of Beck’s classic 

cognitive therapy model, CBT emphasizes 

collaborative empiricism, socializing patients to 

the cognitive therapy model, and monitoring and 

modification of automatic thoughts, assumptions, 

and beliefs. To adapt CBT to adolescents, greater 

emphasis is placed on (1) use of concrete 

examples to illustrate points, (2) education 

psychotherapy and socialization to the treatment 

model, (3) exploration of autonomy and trust 

issues, (4) focus on cognitive distortions and 

affective shifts, and (5) acquisition of problemsolving, affect-regulation, and social skills. To 

match the more concrete cognitive style of 

younger adolescents, therapists summarize 

session content frequently. Abstraction is kept to 

a minimum; concrete examples linked to personal 

experience are used whenever possible. The 

treatment program is delivered in 12-16 weekly 

sessions. 

23 
Title Population Description 

Emergency Room 

Intervention for 

Adolescent Females 

12-18 year old 

adolescent females 

A program for teenage girls admitted to the 

emergency room after attempting suicide. The 

intervention, involving the girls and family 

member(s) who accompany them to the 

emergency room, seeks to increase attendance at 

outpatient treatment following ER discharge and 

to reduce future suicide attempts. The intervention 

includes 3 components designed to change the 

family's conceptualization of the suicidal behavior 

and expectations about therapy. A 2-hour training 

is conducted separately with each of six groups of 

staff working with adolescents who have 

attempted suicide. The adolescents and families 

then watch a 20-minute videotape that portrays 

the emergency room experience of two 

adolescents who have attempted suicide. Last, a 

bilingual crisis therapist delivers a brief family 

treatment in the emergency room. 

PROSPECT (Prevention 

of Suicide in Primary 

Care Elderly: 

Collaborative Trial) 

Adults, age 55+ Designed to help prevent suicide among older 

primary care patients by reducing suicidal 

ideation and depression. The intervention includes 

a treatment algorithm to help primary care 

physicians make appropriate care choices during 

the acute, continuation and maintenance phases of 

treatment. Health specialists collaborate with 

physicians to monitor patients and encourage 

patient adherence to recommended treatments. 

Patients are treated and monitored for 24 months. 

Program implementation relies on educating 

primary care physicians to recognize symptoms 

and apply a clinical algorithm (including both 

somatic and nonsomatic interventions) based on 

depression treatment guidelines for older patients. 

24 
Title Population Description 

SOS (Signs of Suicide) Adolescents (ages 

13-17) 

A 2-day secondary school-based intervention that 

includes screening and education. Students are 

screened for depression and suicide risk and 

referred for professional help as indicated. 

Students also view a video that teaches them to 

recognize signs of depression and suicide in 

others. They are taught that the appropriate 

response to these signs is to acknowledge them, 

let the person know you care, and tell a 

responsible adult (either with the person or on that 

person's behalf). Students also participate in 

guided classroom discussions about suicide and 

depression. The intervention attempts to prevent 

suicide attempts, increase knowledge about 

suicide and depression, develop desirable 

attitudes toward suicide and depression and 

increase help-seeking behavior. 

Columbia University 

TeenScreen Program 

Middle school and 

high school youth 

(ages 10-17) 

Identifies middle- and high school-aged youth in 

need of mental health services due to undetected 

mental illness and suicide risk. Primary goal is to 

foster early identification of problems that might 

not otherwise come to the attention of 

professionals. Can be implemented in schools, 

clinics, doctors' offices, juvenile justice settings, 

shelters, or any other youth-serving setting. The 

screening involves: 

Parent and student written consent during which 

time both receive information about the screening 

process, confidentiality, and the teens' rights to 

refuse to answer any questions they do not want 

to answer. 

Teen completion of a 10-minute paper-and-pencil 

or computerized questionnaire on anxiety, 

depression, substance and alcohol abuse, and 

suicidal thoughts and behavior. 

Teens with responses suggesting suicide risk or 

other mental health need participate in a brief 

clinical interview with on-site mental health 

professional. If symptoms warrant further referral, 

parents are notified and help to find community 

services. 

Teens whose responses do not indicate need for 

clinical services receive an individualized 

debriefing to help reduce the stigma associated 

with scores indicating risk and to enable the youth 

to express any concerns not reflected in their 

questionnaire responses. 

25 
Title Population Description 

US Air Force Suicide 

Prevention Program 

Young adult (18-25) 

and adult (26-55) 

The Air Force has implemented a populationoriented approach to reducing the risk of suicide 

that includes 11 initiatives aimed at strengthening 

social support, promoting development of social 

skills, and changing policies and norms to 

encourage effective help-seeking behaviors. The 

initiatives are: 

Leadership Involvement 

Suicide Prevention in Professional Military 

Education 

Guidelines for Use of Mental Health Services 

Community Preventive Services 

Community Education and Training 

Investigative Interview Policy 

Critical Incident Stress Management 

Integrated Delivery System (IDS) 

Limited Privilege Suicide Prevention Program 

Behavioral Health Survey 

Suicide Event Surveillance System 

26 
APPENDICES

27 
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32 
SUICIDE PREVENTION POLICY

A FEDERAL CHRONOLOGY

1958: Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center opens, funded by the U.S. Public Health Service and 

directed by Edwin Shneidman. 

1966: Center for the Study of Suicide Prevention (later renamed the Suicide Prevention Research 

Unit) established at the National Institute of Mental Health. 

1968: American Association of Suicidology founded by Edwin Shneidman. 

1983: CDC Violence Prevention Unit (later subsumed into the National Center for Injury Prevention 

and Control) established; focuses public attention on an increase in the rate of youth suicide. 

1985: Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide established to review the problem of youth suicide and 

recommend actions. 

1987: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention founded. 

1989: Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide published by the U.S. Department of 

Health and Human Services. 

1996: Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN) USA founded with the goal of preventing suicide 

through public education, community action, and advocacy. 

1996: World Health Organization (WHO), recognizing the growing problem of suicide worldwide, 

urged member nations to address suicide in its document Prevention of Suicide: Guidelines for 

the Formulation and Implementation of National Strategies. This Report motivated the 

Department of Health and Human Services to develop a national strategy to prevent suicide, 

relying on the expertise of SAMHSA, CDC, HRSA, IHS, NIMH, and OSG, as well as the 

Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network (SPAN USA), a public grassroots suicide prevention 

advocacy. 

1998: The HHS/SPAN group sponsored a national conference on suicide prevention as a response to 

the WHO./UN publication. Convened in Reno, Nevada, the conference included researchers, 

health and mental health clinicians, policymakers, suicide survivors, and community activists 

and leaders. Conferees called for a national strategy to prevent suicide, laying out 15 key 

recommendations refined from consensus and evidence-based findings presented. 

1999: Determining that suicide is a public health problem, Surgeon General issues a Call to Action to 

Prevent Suicide, grounded in the 15 key recommendations from the 1998 Reno Conference. 

The Call to Action said that any national strategy should focus on three critical areas: 

awareness, intervention and methodology (AIM)—an approach derived from the collaborative 

deliberations of the conference participants. 

33 
2001: First installment of National Strategy for Suicide Prevention unveiled by Surgeon General, 

setting goals and objectives for the public and private sector. The document established 11 

goals and 68 measurable objectives for public and private sector involvement to prevent 

suicides and attempts, as well as to reduce the harmful after-effects they have on families and 

communities. The goals and objectives lay out a framework for action and guide development 

of an array of services and programs previously not yet set in motion. The Surgeon General 

envisioned that future installments of the National Strategy would be released as work is 

completed. A publication recommending safe approaches for media coverage of suicide related 

events was to be developed (see below). 

2001: SAMHSA awards grant for the Hotline Evaluation and Linkage Project to the American 

Association of Suicidology, and for evaluation of the project to Columbia and Rutgers 

Universities . 

2001: Institute of Medicine convenes and publishes the findings of 2 workshops on suicide prevention 

and intervention as part of its information-gathering activities that inform the IOM’s work to 

assess the science base of suicide etiology, evaluate the current status of suicide prevention, and 

examine current strategies for the study of suicide. 

2002: Institute of Medicine releases Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative, the volume resulting 

from its year of information gathering on suicide and suicide prevention. The book explores the 

factors that raise a person’s risk of suicide: psychological and biological factors including 

substance abuse, the link between childhood trauma and later suicide, and the impact of family 

life, economic status, religion, and other social and cultural conditions. It reviews the 

effectiveness of existing interventions, including mental health practitioners ability to assess 

suicide risk among patients, and presents lessons learned from the Air Force suicide prevention 

program and other prevention initiatives. And they identify barriers to effective research and 

treatment. 

2002: SAMHSA releases its Report to Congress on the Prevention and Treatment of Co-Occurring 

Substance Abuse Disorders and Mental Disorders. This population is at particularly high risk 

for suicide, an issue highlighted in the report. 

2002: SAMHSA announces the award of a grant to the Education Development Center (Newton, MA) 

to establish and manage the National Suicide Prevention Resource Center, funded by 

approximately $2.5 million per year for 3 years. The Center is designed to provide information 

about and assistance in implementing suicide prevention programs. 

2003: The President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, established as part of the 

President’s agenda to enable Americans with mental illness to live, work, learn, and participate 

fully in their communities, presents its final report to the President. The very first 

recommendation contained in the report, Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health 

Care in America, focuses on suicide prevention as a key element of a comprehensive mental 

health system, urging the President to “Advance and implement a national campaign to reduce 

the stigma of seeking care and a national strategy for suicide prevention.” 

2003: SAMHSA convenes Collaboration Around Youth Suicide Prevention: A Workshop for State 

Public Health and Mental Health Officials in Seattle, Washington. 

34 
2003-4: Reporting On Suicide: Recommendations for the Media is developed and released by SAMHSA 

in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of 

Mental Health, Office of the Surgeon General, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 

American Association of Suicidology, and the Annenberg Public Policy Center in collaboration 

with the World Health Organization, the National Swedish Centre for Suicide Research, and the 

New Zealand Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy. 

2004: SAMHSA’s Office of Applied Studies adds questions specific to suicide (both ideation and 

attempts) to its National Survey on Drug Use and Health NSDUH, the Nation's primary source 

of information on the prevalence of illicit drug use among people aged 12 or older, also 

providing estimates of alcohol and tobacco use and mental health problems in that population. 

The report begins to provide information about the relationships between suicidal thoughts, 

suicide attempts, and substance use among adults aged 18 or older who have had at least one 

major depressive episode (MDE) during the past year. 

2004: The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act is signed into law by President Bush. It includes a series 

of programs designed to address youth suicide (early intervention and prevention, campus care 

and counseling, etc.). 

2004: SAMHSA awards a grant to launch the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-

TALK) as part of the National Suicide Prevention Initiative, designed to help reduce the 

incidence of suicide nationwide. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a network of local 

crisis centers located in communities across the country that are committed to suicide 

prevention. Callers to the hotline will receive suicide prevention counseling from trained staff 

at the closest certified crisis center in the network. 

2005: SAMHSA announces availability of approximately $2.6 million in FY 2005 funds for a 

cooperative agreement for up to 5 years to create and operate a suicide prevention resource 

center to assist states, territories, tribes and communities in their efforts to plan for the 

development, implementation and evaluation of suicide prevention programs. The program was 

authorized under the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. 

2005: Three SAMHSA suicide prevention grant programs, authorized under the Garrett Lee Smith 

Memorial Act, are announced and awarded: 

• State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention to build on the foundation of prior suicide 

prevention efforts by states and tribes to develop and implement statewide or tribal youth 

suicide prevention; 

• Campus Suicide Prevention provides funding to institutions of higher education to 

enhance services for students with mental and behavioral health problems, such as 

depression, substance abuse, and suicide attempts; 

• Hurricane Katrina-related Suicide Prevention for Hurricane Katrina-related statesponsored youth suicide prevention and early intervention. 

2006: SAMHSA Administrator designates suicide prevention as a priority program/policy activity, 

establishing a matrix focus area, working group to coordinate and stimulate activities on this 

topic. It establishes a 2-year action agenda, including not only the identification of programs, 

actions, milestones and objectives, but also measures of their achievement. 

35 
2006: Federal Working Group on Suicide Prevention established. Representatives from SAMHSA, 

Centers for Disease Control, National Institute on Mental Health, Indian Health Services, 

Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies. 

2006: SAMHSA announces and awards almost $9.6 million over three years for eight new grants to 

support national suicide prevention and early intervention efforts focusing on youth. The first 

year grant total is almost $3.2 million. This grant program is authorized under the Garrett Lee 

Smith Memorial Act, which provides funding for programs to combat suicide. 

2007: Department of Health and Human Services five-year strategic plan is amended to include 

suicide prevention as one of its core prevention measures, establishing the ambitious goal of 

reducing suicide deaths by six percent by 2012, in large measure relying on SAMHSA’s suicide 

prevention activities, policies and programs. 

2007: SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment begins development of a Treatment 

Improvement Protocol specifically focused on the relationship between suicide and substance 

abuse. 

2007: SAMHSA convenes the first regularly planned in-service program to better educate SAMHSA 

staff and others about suicide prevention as an agency priority, key issues, and new 

developments, products and publications bearing on the topic. 

2007: SAMHSA awards a cooperative agreement for $2.88 million in each of up to 5 years to the 

Mental Health Association of New York City to manage, enhance and strengthen the National 

Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a network of over 125 crisis centers in the U.S. that responds to 

over 36,000 calls every month. It is one of SAMHSA’s infrastructure programs that provide a 

solid foundation for delivering and sustaining effective behavioral health services. 

2007: SAMHSA announces the availability of up to $6.5 million for a new round of grants to 

states/tribal organizations and to colleges/universities to support national suicide prevention and 

early intervention efforts focusing on youth under the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. 

2007: The Department of Veterans Affairs partners with SAMHSA to establish a toll-free hotline for 

veterans in crisis. Using the 1-800-273-TALK Lifeline number, veterans calling will be 

connected to a special, VA-sponsored crisis center staffed by mental health professionals in 

Canadaigua, NY. They will take calls from across the country and work closely with local VA 

mental health providers to help callers. 

2007: SAMHSA names suicide prevention one of the 2008 review priorities for mental health and 

substance use prevention and treatment programs and practices submitted to the National 

Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP). NREPP is a voluntary rating and 

classification system designed to provide the public with reliable information on the scientific 

basis and practicality of interventions that prevent and/or treat mental and substance use 

disorders. 

2007-8: Establishment of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention is initiated by SPAN 

USA and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, with the support and partnership of 

SAMHSA. The goal of the Action Alliance is to move the goals and objectives of the 2001 

National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (NSSP) from paper to practice by monitoring, guiding, 

coordinating and promoting suicide prevention efforts across the country. The public-private 

partnership is to heighten awareness about suicide, help reduce the stigma surrounding mental 

36 
illnesses and suicide and coordinate the nation’s suicide prevention responses. Membership is 

drawn from the public and private sectors, including people who have survived the suicide or 

the suicide of a loved one, government officials and representatives from non-profits, business, 

philanthropy, academia, and both professional and advocacy organizations. 

2008: SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health will ask all respondents about suicide 

attempts, whether or not they had previously acknowledged a major depression, an important 

step forward in suicide surveillance. The first data will be available in the 2008 NSDUH. 

37 
RESOURCES1

Publications (Print and Electronic)

SAMHSA Publications 

Office of Applied Studies (2006). Emergency Department Visits Involving ADHD Stimulant Medications

(The New DAWN Report). Rockville, MD: Substance abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 

Office of Applied Studies (2006). Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempts, Major Depressive Episode & 

Substance Use among Adults (The OAS Report). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

Services Administration. 

Office of Applied Studies (2006). Disposition of Emergency Department Visits for Drug-Related Suicide 

Attempts by Adolescents, 2004 (New Dawn Report). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

Services Administration. 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2008). A Guide to Evidence-Based 

Practices on the Web. http://www.samhsa.gov/ebpWebguide (accessed 2/11/08). 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2002). Report to Congress on the 

Prevention and Treatment of Co-Occurring Substance Abuse Disorders and Mental Disorders. Rockville, 

MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 

SAMHSA Co-occurring Center for Excellence (2007). Overview Papers 1-8 (1: Definitions and Terms 

Relating to Co-Occurring Disorders; 2: Screening, Assessment, and Treatment Planning for Persons with 

Co-Occurring Disorders; 3: Overarching Principles To Address the Needs of Persons With Co-Occurring 

Disorders; 4: Addressing Co-Occurring Disorders in Non-Traditional Service Settings; 5: Understanding 

Evidence-Based Practices for Co-Occurring Disorders; 6: Services Integration; 7: Systems Integration; 

8: The Epidemiology of Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Disorders). 

http://www.coce.samhsa.gov/products/overview_papers.aspx

Other Federal Publications 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2007). Preventing Suicide: Program Activities Guide. 

Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/Preventing_Suicide.pdf (Accessed 2/11/08) 

National Institute of Mental Health (2004). Reporting On Suicide: Recommendations for the Media. 

Developed and released in collaboration with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Mental Health, Office 

of the Surgeon General, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Association of 

Suicidology, and the Annenberg Public Policy Center in collaboration with the World Health 

Organization, the National Swedish Centre for Suicide Research, and the New Zealand Youth Suicide 

 

1

 SAMHSA provides links to non-Federal publications and Internet sites as a service to its users, and is not 

responsible for the availability or content of these products and sites. SAMHSA, its employees, and contractors do 

not endorse, warrant, or guarantee the products, services, or information provided, described or offered. Any 

reference to a commercial product, process, or service is not an endorsement or recommendation by the SAMHSA, 

its employees, contractors or the US Department of Health and Human Services. 

38 
Prevention Strategy. www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention/reporting-on-suiciderecommendations-for-the-media.shtml (Accessed 3/3/08). 

New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (2003). Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental 

Health Care in America. Final Report. DHHS Pub. No. SMA-03-3832. Rockville, MD: Government 

Printing Office. 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2007). HHS Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives 2007-

2012. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. http://www.hhs.gov/strategic_plan/ (Accessed 

3/3/08) 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service. (2001). National Strategy for 

Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action (DHHS Publication No. SMA 01–3517). Rockville, 

MD: Government Printing Office. http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/suicideprevention/strategy.asp

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2000). Healthy People 2010. 2nd ed. With 

Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. 2 vols. Washington, DC: U.S. 

Government Printing Office. 

Other Publications 

Committee on Crossing the Quality Chasm: Adaptation to Mental Health and Addictive Disorders 

Board on Health Care Services (2006). Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and SubstanceUse Conditions. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. 

Institute of Medicine (Goldsmith SK, Pellmar TC, Kleinman AM, Bunney WE, Eds.). (2002). Reducing 

Suicide: A National Imperative. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. 

http://books.nap.edu/books/0309083214/html/index.html

Jacobs D (2008). The Suicide Assessment Five-step Evaluation and Triage (SAFE-T) Card. Rockville, 

MD: Suicide Prevention Resource Center. http://www.sprc.org/library/safe_t_pcktcrd_edc.pdf

Mental Health America (2007) Ranking America’s Mental Health: An Analysis of Depression Across the 

States. Alexandria VA: Mental Health America. http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/go/state-ranking

(Accessed 3/3/08). 

World Health Organization (1996). Prevention of Suicide: Guidelines for the Formulation and 

Implementation of National Strategies. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. 

Web sites

SAMHSA-Related Sites 

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: http://www.samhsa.gov

Suicide Prevention Data Reports: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov 

Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC): http://www.sprc.org

Best Practices Registry: http://www.sprc.org/featured_resources/bpr/index.asp 

Suicide Prevention Lifeline: http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org 

National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices: http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov 

Co-Occurring Center of Excellence (COCE): http://www.coce.samsha.gov 

National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/suicideprevention/default.asp 

39 
Other Federal Sites 

National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/suicideprevention/default.asp 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov 

National Institute on Mental Health: http://www.nimh.nih.gov 

National Institute on Drug Abuse: http://www.nida.nih.gov 

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: http:www.niaaa.nih.gov 

Non-Government Sites 

Active Minds on Campus: http://www.activemindsoncampus.org 

American Association of Suicidology: http://www.suicidology.org 

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: http://www.afsp.org 

The Jed Foundation: http://www. jedfoundation.org 

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): http://www.nami.org 

National Association of Crisis Center Directors (NASCOD): http://www.nascod.org 

National Council for Suicide Prevention: http://www.ncsp.org 

National Mental Health Association: http://www.nmha.org 

National Organization for People of Color Against Suicide (NOPCAS): http://www.nopcas.com 

Suicide Awareness/Voices of Education: http://www.save.org 

Suicide Prevention Action Network: http://www.spanusa.org

40 
41 
NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION: 

MENTIONS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Goal 3

Develop and implement strategies to reduce the stigma associated with being a consumer of mental 

health, substance abuse and suicide prevention services 

Objective 3.3: By 2005, increase the proportion of the public that views consumers of mental health, 

substance abuse, and suicide prevention services as pursuing fundamental care and treatment for 

overall health.

Goal 7ju

Develop and promote effective clinical and professional practices 

Objective 7.2: By 2005, develop guidelines for assessment of suicidal risk among persons receiving 

care in primary health care settings, emergency departments, and specialty mental health and 

substance abuse treatment centers. Implement these guidelines in a proportion of these settings. 

Objective 7.3: By 2005, increase the proportion of specialty mental health and substance abuse 

treatment centers that have policies, procedures, and evaluation programs designed to assess suicide 

risk and intervene to reduce suicidal behaviors among their patients. 

Objective 7.8: By 2005, develop guidelines for providing education to family members and 

significant others of persons receiving care for the treatment of mental health and substance abuse 

disorders with risk of suicide. Implement the guidelines in facilities (including general and mental 

hospitals, mental health clinics, and substance abuse treatment centers). 

Objective 7.9: By 2005, incorporate screening for depression, substance abuse and suicide risk as a 

minimum standard of care for assessment in primary care settings, hospice, and skilled nursing 

facilities for all Federally-supported healthcare programs (e.g., Medicaid, CHAMPUS/TRICARE, 

CHIP, Medicare). 

Objective 7.10: By 2005, include screening for depression, substance abuse and suicide risk as 

measurable performance items in the Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS).

Goal 8 

Increase access to and community linkages with mental health and substance abuse services 

Objective 8.1: By 2005, increase the number of States that require health insurance plans to cover 

mental health and substance abuse services on par with coverage for physical health. 

Objective 8.3: By 2005, define guidelines for mental health (including substance abuse) screening and 

referral of students in schools and colleges. Implement those guidelines in a proportion of school 

districts and colleges. 

42 
43 

Objective 8.4: By 2005, develop guidelines for schools on appropriate linkages with mental health 

and substance abuse treatment services and implement those guidelines in a proportion of school 

districts. 

Objective 8.5: By 2005, increase the proportion of school districts in which school-based clinics 

incorporate mental health and substance abuse assessment and management into their scope of 

activities.