The Schubert Center for Child Studies will welcome Arielle Sheftall, assistant professor and principal investigator at the Suicide Prevention and Research Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, as the featured speaker for this year’s Kessler-Freedheim Lecture. Sheftall will present “The Changing Landscape of Youth Suicide and Suicidal Behavior: An Examination of Racial Differences and Risk Factors” Wednesday, Nov. 3, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Tinkham Veale University Center, Ballroom B.
Youth suicide and suicidal behavior have increased over the past decade and suicide is still the second leading cause of death for youth 10–19 years old. Racial disparities have been discovered recently when examining youth suicide, but research focused on minoritized youth is limited. Sheftall will present on the current epidemiology of suicide/suicidal behavior by sex and race, and discuss potential avenues for intervention.
Psychologist and author Lisa Damour, Schubert Center advisor and clinical instructor of psychological sciences, will moderate a conversation following the lecture with respondents:
- Archie Green, founder and CEO of Peel Dem Layers Back; and
- Lisa Ramirez, pediatric psychology specialist at MetroHealth and assistant professor at the School of Medicine.
The event is free and open to the community, and will be presented in-person and via Zoom. A light lunch will be served to in-person attendees.
The annual Kessler-Freedheim lecture honors Jane Kessler, professor of psychology and former director of the Mental Development Center, and Donald Freedheim, emeritus professor of psychology and former director of the Schubert Center.
Campus partners for this event are the Department of Psychological Sciences, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) on Campus, and University Health and Counseling Services.
Community partners for this event are the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Cuyahoga County, Bellefaire JCB, FrontLine Service, Northern Ohio Recovery Association, Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation and Peel Dem Layers Back (as of Oct. 7).