SOS Screener Info

THE SOS PROGRAM SCREENING COMPONENT

 

In order to implement the evidence-based SOS program with fidelity, both the educational
curriculum and mental health screening are necessary. It is important to convey to students and
parents that the mental health screenings being conducted in your school are for educational
purposes. The goal of mental health screening is to educate students on whether they may have
symptoms consistent with depression and/or suicide risk and to advise that they have a complete
professional evaluation. Screening results are not diagnostic, but indicate the presence, or
absence, of symptoms that are consistent or inconsistent with depression or suicide risk. Negative
responses to the questionnaire do not rule out depression/suicide risk and positive responses do
not conclusively establish depression/suicide risk. A thorough diagnostic evaluation by a healthcare
professional is always necessary to determine whether or not there is the presence or absence of
depression/suicide risk. Parents should be contacted immediately by phone if a student is deemed
at-risk for suicide.

Your SOS Programs Materials Designed To Identify Students At-Risk:

Brief Screen for Adolescent Depression (BSAD) with scoring instructions: a validated,
seven-question survey.

Student response cards asking students to indicate whether or not they would like to talk
to a trusted adult. Customizable templates are also available in the SOS Portal.

BSAD screening form with two additional alcohol use questions (given the strong
relationship between alcohol use and suicide in teens).

Spanish language screening forms and materials.

Q: Could talking to kids about suicide or conducting a depression
screening put the idea in their head?

A: Rest assured that evidence-based suicide prevention programming, including screening, is safe
and effective. After years of research, there is no evidence that screening youth for suicide induces
suicidal thinking or behavior (Gould et al., 2007). In fact, schools that implement solid suicide
prevention programs and procedures greatly reduce their risk of liability by following their legal
duty to care for students (Erbacher et al., 2015).

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Screening Options

The SOS program student screening can be administered
anonymously or identified. Both methods of screening
provide value to students by teaching them about
symptoms of depression and encouraging them to seek
help based on their self-assessment. Both methods of
screening also allow schools to collect aggregate data
to help inform their prevention efforts. Your program
team and school regulations should determine which
option is best for your school. .

Anonymous

When conducting anonymous screenings, instruct
students to complete the screening form and use
the scoring instructions on the back to score the
screening themselves. Discuss what different scores
mean and what action steps to consider, depending
on the scores. Advise students to reach out to school
counselors if needed.

Identified with Student Name or ID Number
When students include their name or ID number on the
screening form, you may instruct them to self-score
before staff collect forms. Or, the program team can
score each form following the program. School staff
should plan to follow up with students whose symptoms
are consistent with depression on the screening and any
student who answers ‘yes’ to questions 4 or 5 (which
indicate suicide risk). Some schools also follow up with
students who are unable to identify a trusted adult on
the form.

 

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Considerations When Choosing Screening Format:
Identifying Students in Need

> Identified screening provides a simple way for school staff to identify students in need of
follow-up.

> While students may answer screening questions honestly during anonymous screening, they
must then take an additional step to seek help and share their concerns with an adult.

Time and Resources

> Identified screening generally finds more students in need of follow-up. Staff must plan to
meet this need. Review all screening forms the day of the program to ensure that students
with high scores receive attention;

> Because anonymous screening does not identify specific students in need, some schools
require all students to meet with their counselor following the SOS program which can be
a significant stretch of resources.

Student Response Card

Whether utilizing anonymous or identified screening, all students should complete a student

response card indicating whether they would like to speak with an adult following the program.

This tool provides an efficient and effective way for students to identify themselves if they need
to talk to a trusted adult about themselves or a friend. By having all students complete the card,
the students who have concerns are not singled out. Schools can customize student response
cards to set expectations for when students requesting follow up can expect staff to meet with
them. Emphasize that those needing immediate assistance should approach staff immediately.
Reproducible student response cards are available in your SOS Portal. An example is below.

 

BASED ON THE VIDEO AND/OR SCREENING, I FEEL
[C1 Ineed to talk to someone...
L] I donot need to talk to someone... ABOUT MYSELF OR A FRIEND

NAME (PRINT)
COUNSELOR/HOMEROOM TEACHER

IF YOU WISH TO SPEAK WITH SOMEONE, YOU WILL BE CONTACTED WITHIN 24 HOURS. IF
YOU WISH TO SPEAK WITH SOMEONE SOONER, PLEASE APPROACH STAFF IMMEDIATELY

 

 

 

 

 

Implementer’s Guide [19