Teen suicide prevention focuses on firearms.

Byline: DANIEL CLOSE and JOHN ALLCOTT For The Register-Guard

CONSIDER THE following scenarios:

Julia is a 16-year-old high school sophomore. Her parents recently have divorced and she is living with her mother. Julia is skipping school and having problems in several classes. During a heated conversation, Julia demanded that her mother sign a consent form to get her tongue pierced. Her mother refused. Julia stormed to her bedroom yelling, "Fine, I'll just kill myself!"

Two hours later, Julia's mother found her unconscious on her bed with a note. Her mother called 911. Julia survived the suicide attempt after her stomach was pumped.

Patrick is a 15-year-old high school freshman, the middle child in a two-parent family. His mother does not work outside the home. Patrick has been suspended from school for a violation of the conduct code. His mother picked him up at school and told Patrick that his father would discipline him. Patrick went to his bedroom while his mother performed household chores and ran some errands.

Patrick took a gun from his father's collection. He shot himself as his father entered the house after work. Patrick died instantly from the gunshot wound.

In 2001, Gov. John Kitzhaber, a former emergency room physician, declared May as Family Gun Safety Month throughout Oregon. The tragic events described above have compelled the Steering Committee for Family Gun Safety Month to focus the 2002 effort on the prevention of teen suicide.

Teen-age suicide has become an epidemic in the United States; the rate has increased by more than 400 percent since 1950. Approximately 2,300 children die each year in the United States through suicide. Suicide is the No. 2 cause of death among those younger than 20.

In Oregon, 330 people under age 20 committed suicide during the 1990s; of those, 36 were in Lane County. In Lane County, approximately 60 siblings, 72 parents, 144 grandparents, 1,200 classmates and countless friends, neighbors and coworkers are touched by these tragedies. Sacred Heart Medical Center treated more teens for suicide attempts than any Oregon hospital other than Emanuel in Portland.

Of the 29 teens who committed suicide in 1999 in Oregon, three-fourths used a gun.

Boys who choose a gun to end their life are remarkably successful. In fact, 21 of the 26 boys who killed themselves in 1999 used a gun. Of the 29 teen suicides in Oregon that year, boys committed nine out of 10. Tragically, boys are 30 times more likely to succeed in a suicide attempt than girls. Girls typically survive suicide attempts, because their method of choice is pills.

Boys and girls attempt suicide for the same reasons. Two-thirds report that they have attempted suicide following family discord and conflicts with their parents, which can tip the child's balance toward self-destruction. Conflict is a natural part of parenting during the teen years. A teen-ager's inability to cope with stress or pressure should not result in premature death. A gun in the hands of a distressed teen can be a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

The vast majority of teen suicide attempts occur in the family home. The impulsive nature of many of their actions, coupled with the availability of guns, pills and other means for suicide, require special attention to create a safe and secure home environment for teens. This is especially critical while teens are preoccupied with self-doubt, confusion and anger.

What does all this mean for parents, teens, educators, community health professionals and the gun lobby? The Steering Committee on Family Gun Safety proposes a multifaceted approach to the prevention of teen suicide:

Teach teens to tell an adult if a peer talks of suicide. Local mental health professionals have developed the mnemonic ACT - for "Acknowledge, Care, Tell" - as a way to remember the importance of this message.

The Ribbon of Promise group indicates that many school shootings have been averted because students tell an adult if they hear peers talking about violence and plans for shooting. This simple message needs to be presented to all youth regarding talk of suicide.

Educate parents about the warning signs. The April 26 guest column by Dr. Martin Cohen provides guidelines parents can use to detect suicidal thinking among teens and how to get professional help.

Encourage parents to unload and lock up guns in the home. We also encourage parents to ask other parents about gun storage in the homes where their children visit. In some cases parents will need to remove the gun from the home and store it in one of the lockers available through gun shops or shooting ranges.

If parents so choose, Ceasefire Oregon will accept guns at the Gun Turn-in from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Coburg Park.

Get the gun lobby involved. Invite the gun lobby, and the National Rifle Association in particular, to join with educators and health officials to create suicide prevention strategies. The tragedy of teen suicide will continue unabated if proactive means are not developed to link the gun lobby with gun safety advocates.

Local educators have the technical expertise to develop prevention strategies based on solid, scientific principles. The NRA alone can influence gun owners to support this important prevention activity. We are all in this suicide prevention effort together!

Please join the Steering Committee on Family Gun Safety Month in the public education activities planned for May. Of special interest are the Ceasefire Oregon Gun Turn-In on Saturday and the Million Mom March at the Eugene Water & Electric Board Plaza Fountain at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Local actors will present a special play on teen suicide in late June.

Daniel Close, Ph.D., is chairman of the Safety Committee for the Community Action Forum. John Allcott, M.D., is a member of Ceasefire Oregon's board of directors. They submitted this column behalf of the Steering Committee on Family Gun Safety Month.