By Ari Cook, PPS/Child Policy Research Certificate student '27
"Always and forever, for Frankie."
Those are the words Dr. Pamela Morris-Perez used to end her lecture, “The Scarlet Letter 'S': Reclaiming Humanity & Hope for Teen Suicide,” as part of the Center for Child and Family Policy's Sulzberger Distinguished Lecture Series. The event brought together a diverse crowd of area students, professionals, and faculty members to discuss the prevalence of teen suicide and pathways to prevention.
A professor of applied psychology at New York University, Dr. Morris-Perez began her talk by explaining her journey to the subject matter -- her daughter, Frankie, who died by suicide at age 17, just three weeks shy of graduating high school. While coping with this unexpected loss, Morris-Perez turned to researching teen suicide to search for answers. In every article she read, she couldn’t find Frankie— “her playfulness, her empathy.” It was then that she decided to enter the research space and understand why.
Roots of the Term, “Suicide”
Rooted in criminal and sinful connotations since the 16th century, Morris-Perez broke down the word “suicide” and its long-associated stigma, which negatively impacts those affected by it. She recalled the school’s plan of action following Frankie’s death, describing “men in suits” instructing staff and parents not to use the "s" word. This reaction is common among communities shaken by teen suicide. The long-held belief is that, by discussing suicide, individuals are “putting the idea of suicide in teens’ minds.” Yet, an overwhelming amount of research debunks this misconception, revealing that talking about suicide may yield benefits for those struggling with mental health, allowing them to understand their feelings and learn how to cope.
The Issue
What was most striking about this lecture was Morris-Perez’s breakdown of the severe underfunding of suicide research. Suicide accounts for a fraction of a fraction of the federal budget allocated to health research, and the research we could fund shows that suicide is as predictable as flipping a coin. The topic accounts for up to 2 percent of publications in leading child development journals. This means that public understanding of suicide isn’t increasing.
I found this information particularly perplexing as the small, rural community I grew up in was shaken by two teen suicides during the time I was in high school. While that number may not seem remarkable, it was considerable given the population of the area. In addition, mental health challenges affected a relatively large portion of my peers in high school, without much regard to class, race, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. It’s hard to understand why such a prevalent, pervasive topic has such limited resources on the national research scene.
Understanding and Hope
Suicide awareness ribbons provided by the speaker.
Dr. Morris-Perez eloquently ended her lecture with an emphasis on understanding and hope. The process of finding a particular reason to understand why someone dies by suicide is difficult, but research shows we may begin to understand by looking at liminality. Youth and those who are indigenous, multi-race, transgender, or bisexual exhibit the highest rates of suicide. These groups share a commonality in that they are all liminal, meaning they are in transition, between two identities, or have experiences that don’t fit perfectly into a binary. This liminality can be incredibly distressing for individuals, leading to thoughts of suicide.
While liminality cannot be easily dismantled, hope can serve as our next step. Hope comes from recognizing the pain around you, and getting up and choosing to create or find beauty anyway, says Dr. Morris-Perez. Teens who struggle with suicidal ideation also struggle with identifying purpose and meaning—they may instead only identify fear and the unknown. Individuals around them (i.e., peers, teachers, parents, mentors, community members) can support them by offering an open ear and sitting with them in their fear to eventually help them find their hope.
Ariona Cook is a junior at Duke University, pursuing a degree in Public Policy Studies and a certificate in Child Policy Research. She is interested in a career as a child and family welfare policy practitioner, specializing in older youth in alternative care, kinship care, and LGBTQ+ foster youth.