Suicide Prevention StrategySuicide in Higher Education
In Scotland, there are no accurate statistics for the number of university students who die by suicide each year. There is evidence in the UK, however, that the rates of suicide are lower for students than the general population.
The Office for National Statistics published an analysis of probable deaths by suicide of students between 2017 and 2020 in England and Wales. This showed the suicide rate for students was 3.9 deaths per 100,000, which is significantly lower than the 12.5 deaths by suicide per 100,000 for the general population. That said, it is of note that research suggests the rates of student suicide have risen by 52% since 2000/2001, prompting a need for action.
In the Thriving Learners survey (2021), 74% of the Scotland-based university students surveyed reported having low well-being, and 19.6% reported that they either had suicidal ideation or had attempted suicide in the 6 months prior to the survey.
Everyone’s well-being matters
Staff wellbeing is key to supporting students and creating a place of belonging for them to feel safe at work. There are no accurate statistics for staff suicide rates in Higher Education in Scotland. While research on suicidal thinking and behaviours in students has received attention in the research literature, there is far less information about these in university staff.
Existing work does, however, suggest that the prevalence of mental health problems for academic staff is similar to what is found in students. There is also emerging evidence to suggest that there are comparable levels of suicidal thinking in university staff to what is found in students.
We also know that 68% of people who died by suicide in Scotland in 2022 were in employment. This means it is a priority to ensure our strategy is for both students and staff.
The suicide of any member of a university community is felt by both staff and students. This makes it vital that we consider the impact of a suicide on our community as a whole, being mindful that some members of our community may be both staff and student, and that people’s roles and responsibilities may both overlap and conflict.
Spotlight: The Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) Model of Suicidal Behaviour
The Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) Model of Suicidal Behaviour aims to synthesise, distil, and extend our knowledge and understanding of why people die by suicide, with a particular focus on the psychology of the suicidal mind.
Our suicide prevention work at Strathclyde puts a strong emphasis on the importance of training and building capacity across the university to promote compassionate conversations and to ensure our staff and students are equipped and confident to support positive mental health and suicide prevention. It focuses on partnership working, both inside and outside the university, to ensure that suicide prevention remains a core focus.
Staff in specific intervention roles will develop their knowledge through theoretically informed training developed by the Suicidal Behaviour Research Lab, led by Professor Rory O’Connor, who is part of our External Advisory Group. We will also train all staff in the Disability and Wellbeing Service in the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS Framework). This builds on traditional safety planning by also focusing on the ‘drivers’ associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviour, and it is closely aligned with the IMV model.
The University of Strathclyde
Our community
We have four academic faculties at Strathclyde that cover engineering, business, science, and humanities and social sciences.
Our student community includes over 30,000 students. These students are supported by nearly 5000 staff, 66% of whom are based within the faculties, with the remaining staff working within professional services.
| Students: 30,024 | Staff: 4,547 |
|---|---|
| 61% Undergraduate | 80% hold full-time posts |
| 51% Female/ 49% Male | 51% Female/ 49% Male |
| 24% Black, Asian and Minority Ethnicity (BAME) | 10% Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) |
| 11% Disabled | 5% Disabled |
| 50% 21 years or younger | Highest proportion of staff are aged 30-39 years (27%) |
Early Intervention Team
Student referrals to our Early Intervention (EI) team for counselling and wellbeing support are rising. Since 2020, there has been a considerable increase in referrals to this service. This demonstrates the need for robust strategies around mental health and well-being.
Underpinning our work
Implementation Action Plan
We initially set out to map our existing activities, gaps in provision and knowledge, as well as to identify what our priorities should be in our own context. Our framework was developed to recognise the importance of ensuring the active participation of the people for whom the strategy was developed, including in the decision-making processes surrounding these activities.
We wanted the work to be guided by the voices of those with lived and living experience of suicidal thoughts and/or behaviours, as well as lived or living experience of suicide bereavement.
The Implementation Action Plan will be developed to ensure that active engagement with the community, both within and outside the University, is considered beyond the development phase, across the strategy’s implementation, and its future.
Healthcare systems embed mechanisms for continuous quality improvements, and, in a similar way, this suicide prevention strategy has been developed to ensure we consider the impact of our proposed activities.
We will evaluate what worked and what did not, and consider how we can use this feedback to inform future work taking place as part of the University’s commitment to suicide prevention.
We have aligned our work with the outcomes of the National ‘Creating Hope Together’ Suicide Prevention Strategy for Scotland, while also mirroring the suicide prevention guidance provided by Universities UK.
Time Space Compassion
Time Space Compassion is foundational to our suicide prevention work. This approach recognises the importance of time, space, and compassion for those who are struggling with suicidal thoughts and behaviours, those who have been bereaved by suicide, and those who support people affected by suicide and suicidal crisis.
Time Space Compassion started as part of Every Life Matters, Scotland’s previous strategy for suicide prevention, but is now integrating into the current suicide prevention strategy as well as the Scottish Government’s core mental health quality standards. It recognises that we do not yet have sufficient evidence to recommend one single effective model of suicidal crisis service model, but that a good starting point for an approach to suicide prevention is one that emphasises responding to a suicidal crisis as a human reaction first and foremost.
In that context, people’s lived and living experience of suicidality have highlighted the importance of embedding the principles of Time Space and Compassion into all practices. The Time Space Compassion guide from the Scottish Government provides detailed guidance on supporting practices to allow people, groups and organisations to offer Time Space Compassion as part of everyday actions.