The Social Work Podcast 142: Social Roots of Youth Suicide: Interview with Anna Mueller, PhD
Dec 30, 2024
In this insightful discussion, Anna S. Mueller, a sociologist and associate professor at Indiana University, delves into the chilling social roots of youth suicide. She explores how rigid cultural expectations, mental health stigma, and misleading social connectedness contribute to suicide clusters in communities like Poplar Grove. Anna highlights the critical role school social workers play in combating these issues and urges a shift towards combining clinical therapy with community engagement. Her recommendations for schools offer practical steps to prevent youth suicide effectively.
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Contagion Shapes Imagination
- Exposure to others' suicide can change whether youth view suicide as a viable option for themselves.
- Anna S. Mueller argues contagion alters imagination, not just shares pre-existing risks.
Beyond Individual Interventions
- Focusing solely on individual-level interventions can feel insufficient to youth who experience systemic pain.
- Mueller urges combining clinical work with school- and community-level interventions.
Three Local Social Drivers
- Three social roots in Poplar Grove were narrow achievement pressure, intensified mental health stigma, and tightly knit connectedness.
- These roots increased suffering and reduced help-seeking among youth, per Anna S. Mueller.
