Durham's Latino suicide trend not found in local school districts
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By: Rachel Will, Staff Writer
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: La Colina
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A Durham County survey reported that Latino high school students are twice as likely to attempt suicide as their black and white peers, but no similar trends have been reported in the Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City school systems.
The study, which anonymously polled 392 Durham County high school students, found that 32 percent of the Latino students who responded had attempted suicide in the last year, while 15 percent of black and white students attempted suicide in the same time period.
The study is part of the Durham County Public Health Department's annual Community Health Assessment.
Another recent study was the Youth Risk Behavior survey, conducted every two years by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The 2007 YRBS reported a suicide attempt rate of 18.3 percent for Latino students statewide and 17.8 percent in the central region of the state. The rates for black students were 12.6 percent statewide and 11.9 percent regionally; for white students they were 12.5 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively.
No similar surveys exist at the local level in the Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City school systems.
"As far as the public school system goes, we do a lot of surveys, but we really haven't done any type of survey like that," said Jeff Reilly, counseling services coordinator for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
Orange County Schools spokesman Mike Gilbert said that the school system is working on an assessment of suicidal behavior but that no surveys had been conducted yet.
"We've seen no increases in what we would see as spikes in suicidal ideation," he said.
In Durham County, the surveys' results have raised interest in the community.
A Durham County survey reported that Latino high school students are twice as likely to attempt suicide as their black and white peers, but no similar trends have been reported in the Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City school systems.
The study, which anonymously polled 392 Durham County high school students, found that 32 percent of the Latino students who responded had attempted suicide in the last year, while 15 percent of black and white students attempted suicide in the same time period.
The study is part of the Durham County Public Health Department's annual Community Health Assessment.
Another recent study was the Youth Risk Behavior survey, conducted every two years by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The 2007 YRBS reported a suicide attempt rate of 18.3 percent for Latino students statewide and 17.8 percent in the central region of the state. The rates for black students were 12.6 percent statewide and 11.9 percent regionally; for white students they were 12.5 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively.
No similar surveys exist at the local level in the Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City school systems.
"As far as the public school system goes, we do a lot of surveys, but we really haven't done any type of survey like that," said Jeff Reilly, counseling services coordinator for Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
Orange County Schools spokesman Mike Gilbert said that the school system is working on an assessment of suicidal behavior but that no surveys had been conducted yet.
"We've seen no increases in what we would see as spikes in suicidal ideation," he said.
In Durham County, the surveys' results have raised interest in the community.
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