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<p>Adolescent suicide rates have risen over the past decade, prompting significant national, community, and school-based suicide prevention efforts. Schools, as central settings for youth development, provide unique opportunities to address suicide risk through interventions that transform norms and foster help-seeking behaviors. This study develops a theory of change based on student and staff experience of <i>Directing Change</i>, an innovative school-based program where students create and disseminate short films on mental health and suicide prevention that adhere to safe messaging guidelines. The program, grounded in a diffusion of innovation framework, aims to reduce stigma, shift school-wide norms, and promote help-seeking behaviors. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 17 program champions (10 adult advisors and 7 youth) to garner their perspectives on the program’s theory of change. Themes in the interviews aligned with the program’s intended goals, as well as new themes such as personal growth, youth leadership development, gateways to support, and a sense of belonging and connection within school communities. These findings position Directing Change as an upstream prevention model worthy of testing in a rigorous randomized controlled trial. Moreover, the themes articulated offer intriguing new targets for testing in other youth suicide prevention strategies.</p>

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Youth suicide prevention in the form of a structured film contest: a qualitative study to build the theory of change for Directing Change

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月23日

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  • Pamela Morris-Perez,
  • Abiraahmi Shankar,
  • Adam Benzekri,
  • Rachel Abenavoli,
  • Jana Sczersputowski,
  • Devin Saragosa-Harris,
  • Stan Collins,
  • Catalina Canizares,
  • Stephen Russell,
  • Kiara Alvarez

摘要

Adolescent suicide rates have risen over the past decade, prompting significant national, community, and school-based suicide prevention efforts. Schools, as central settings for youth development, provide unique opportunities to address suicide risk through interventions that transform norms and foster help-seeking behaviors. This study develops a theory of change based on student and staff experience of Directing Change, an innovative school-based program where students create and disseminate short films on mental health and suicide prevention that adhere to safe messaging guidelines. The program, grounded in a diffusion of innovation framework, aims to reduce stigma, shift school-wide norms, and promote help-seeking behaviors. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 17 program champions (10 adult advisors and 7 youth) to garner their perspectives on the program’s theory of change. Themes in the interviews aligned with the program’s intended goals, as well as new themes such as personal growth, youth leadership development, gateways to support, and a sense of belonging and connection within school communities. These findings position Directing Change as an upstream prevention model worthy of testing in a rigorous randomized controlled trial. Moreover, the themes articulated offer intriguing new targets for testing in other youth suicide prevention strategies.