Community mental health journal
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Community Ment Health J · Dec 2012
Suicide assessment and prevention during and after emergency commitment.
The purpose of this study was to address two primary issues within the context of emergency commitment: (a) the suicide-prevention measures implemented at receiving facilities where emergency commitments occur and (b) the perceptions of key stakeholders about access to community services post-discharge. One hundred seventy-eight respondents who worked in receiving facilities, where emergency commitments occur, responded to an online survey or were interviewed. Respondents indicated the use of suicide-prevention measures such as suicide assessment tools used at intake and discharge and strategies utilized to maintain client safety when the issue of suicidality had been determined at intake. Almost half of respondents (46.6%) described the availability of community mental health treatment at discharge from emergency commitment as being "less than adequate." Emerging themes about community service availability are discussed and include long waiting periods and funding issues.
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Community Ment Health J · Dec 2012
Homeless but connected: the role of heterogeneous social network ties and social networking technology in the mental health outcomes of street-living adolescents.
Although social integration tends to have positive effects on the mental health of housed adolescents, the role of homeless adolescents' social networks is more ambiguous. Social network data were collected from 136 homeless adolescents in Hollywood, California to examine how network ties are associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression. Face-to-face relationships with street-based peers were a risk factor for both anxiety and depression, while contacting home-based friends through social networking technology was found to be protective for depression. Community-based and public agencies serving homeless adolescents should consider facilitating the maintenance of these protective relationships by providing internet access.