Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth aged 15-19 years. Indicated programs, for young people at risk of suicide and depression, are called for in the literature. One such program is Coping and Support Training (CAST). It is designed for teens who evidence risk factors for suicide including depressed mood and anger control problems. The research evidence shows that CAST produces decreases in suicidal behaviors, depression and anger. The program is ready for broad distribution, which includes required training for real world adopters, access to support and materials, and environmental interventions to sustain adoption of CAST with fidelity. In Phase I we propose the development and evaluation of products necessary to broad dissemination of CAST. Focus groups and experts panels will be used as evaluators. During Phase II we will use these products to conduct an experiment, identifying those elements essential to achieving implementation fidelity and program sustainability. During Phase I we will:
Aim 1 : Develop the methods, materials, and modalities for conducting CAST training that are cost-effective, compatible with potential consumers' (e.g. schools, community mental health centers) demands/requirements, and consistent with the CAST training model. Product: A CAST Trainer Guide.
Aim 2. Develop the methods, materials and modalities to assess and establish school/community suicide prevention readiness so that adopters seeking to implement CAST or other suicide prevention activities can provide a safe, supportive environment for the conduct of prevention efforts. Product: Suicide Prevention Readiness Online Toolkit.
Aim 3. Create Web access for Coping and Support Training (CAST) to ensure widespread availability of and support for the CAST prevention program. Product: CAST Web site. This application is innovative in that it seeks to explicate factors critical to the dissemination of empirically tested, indicated prevention programming designed to address a major public heath problem, that of youth suicide.
