The movie "Thirteen" examines the lives of two middle school girls on their journey to ultimate destruction. "Thirteen" is a frightening look at the main characters' downward spiral as they plunge into a dangerous world of drugs, alcohol, sex, and "blowing off" school work. This article presents a discussion by a counselor educator and a teacher…

In this article I explore some of the limitations of violence, in particular focusing on how it can possibly be undermined by dialogical action. Firstly, I argue that, although violence is at times justified by some people, its disrespectful use against innocent others, makes it illegitimate and therefore un-dialogical. Secondly, the use of…

The athlete role model has emerged as the new pastor invested with the task of leading young people classed "at-risk" from entering into self-destructive pathways. The logic invested in the athlete role model is that young people identify with their sporting heroes and in the process try to emulate them. This holds for the major sporting…

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has been shown to be effective in randomized controlled trials with women with borderline personality disorder and histories of chronic self-inflicted injury including suicide attempts. The present study is a pre-post replication of a comprehensive DBT program in a community mental health center for individuals…

Background: We examined the benefits of risperidone, including quality of life (QoL), in the treatment of violent and self-injurious behaviour in adults with moderate, severe or profound intellectual disability. Methods: Twenty-four participants received open-label, oral, flexible-dose risperidone of 0.5-6 mg/day for 12 weeks. Efficacy was…

Very little research exists on self-harm in Hispanic populations, although there is a strong literature that addresses suicidality in Hispanics. This study compares self-reported rates of self-harm in 255 non-Hispanic White (NHW) and 187 Hispanic (predominantly Mexican American) undergraduate students. Results indicated that self-harm is…

Suicides in Northern Ireland are examined in the context of what is known about global and regional trends with respect to gender and age, and change over time. For Northern Ireland, suicide numbers and rates are plotted for 10-24 year olds from 1967 to 2005. Questions are raised about the validity of officially registered suicides in the light of…

The frequency, course, and inter-relationships of atypical eating, sleeping, self-injurious behavior, aggression and temper tantrums in children with autism and children with a history of language impairment (HLI), was investigated using a parent interview that was created to examine these problem behaviors. The relationships between these…

This guide is designed to assist people with learning disabilities to recognize their disabilities and the connection between learning disabilities and substance abuse. It begins by defining learning disabilities and providing a self-test checklist for common signs and symptoms of learning disabilities. Difficulties with organization, memory,…

Patients' rights legislation makes the determination of possible danger to self and others extremely important for patients about to be discharged from mental institutions, especially patients who were admitted because of suicidal behavior. Because evaluation methods which rely on patient self-reports may be manipulated by clever patients, a new…

This report addresses the issues delineated by the 70th Texas Legislature in directing the Central Education Agency to study the problem of youth suicide. "Causes and Factors Contributing to Youth Suicide" presents data on national suicide rates for 15- to 19-year-olds and deaths by suicide in Texas for children between the ages of 5 and 19.…

A 13-item adult risk taking scale was selected by factor analysis and internal reliability testing from 25 items administered to 270 urban adults (56% Black; 33% White; 11% Hispanic/other) stratified by socioeconomic status. Chronbach's alpha equaled 0.77. Five items refer to risk of injury, five to risk of illness, one to gambling, and two to…

The literature review looks at self-injurious behaviors in handicapped students in terms of characteristics, prevalence, etiology (biological, psychological, and as learned behavior), and management including extinction, positive punishment, negative punishment, and reinforcement of other behaviors. Problems in areas of management, administration,…

The author discusses the adolescent experience and why adolescents engage in self-destructive behavior. He suggests some changes in the way that adults treat adolescents that could reduce adolescent behavior problems and self-abuse. (CH)

The author describes the formation of a citizens' group in Clarkesville, Tennessee, to educate the town's youth about the health risks of drug use. This group developed a curriculum entitled "I'm Special" designed to teach self-esteem and decision-making skills to fourth graders, to enable them to deal with peer pressure to try or use…