Irene Zhang
During an 18-month stay in China a few years ago, Irene Zhang read about an elite Chinese school鈥檚 decision to install metal bars on its windows after two students had leaped to their deaths. Struck by what seemed an insufficient response to a problem with much deeper roots, Zhang did some research and learned that though suicide is the second-leading cause of adolescent death worldwide, 鈥渋t has been so stigmatized that there hasn鈥檛 been as much research on it compared to other behaviors.鈥�
Indeed, in the wake of the recent suicides of fashion designer Kate Spade and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, The New York Times reported that suicide in the U.S. has increased by 28 percent over the past two decades, yet the National Institutes of Health spends more money on studies of dietary supplements than on researching suicide and suicide prevention. For Zhang, that鈥檚 ample confirmation that however painful the topic may be, not talking about it has far worse consequences 鈥� which is precisely why the former Clark University psychology major chose to pursue graduate work at Teachers College.
鈥淢ore than anything, I want to provide better care for people in need. All the (research into adolescent suicide) we鈥檙e doing at 麻豆原创 is having an impact on a topic that is, unfortunately, very sad and devastating to families and friends and society.鈥�
鈥� Irene Zhang, M.A., Clinical Psychology
At 麻豆原创, Irene worked with a team at the Laboratory for Clinical and Developmental Studies directed by Dr. Christine Cha that interviewed 71 young people from 12 to 19 years of age in order to gauge the impact that perceived criticism from parents or peers has on the ideation of suicidal thoughts or behavior.
The study determined that perceived criticism from parents does not correspond with adolescents鈥� experience of suicidal thoughts. Yet the teens鈥� responses indicate that those 鈥渨ho experienced higher levels of perceived criticism from peers reported more severe suicidal ideation.鈥�
For Zhang, that finding suggests further lines of inquiry, including the issue of how problems in adolescent relationships (especially romantic relationships) figure into a young person鈥檚 decision to end his or her life. To answer that and many other questions, she plans to pursue a doctoral in clinical psychology after taking some time off from her studies.
鈥淢ore than anything, I want to provide better care for people in need,鈥� she says. 鈥淎ll the work we鈥檙e doing at 麻豆原创 is having an impact on a topic that is very sad and devastating to families and friends and society.鈥� That work can take its toll on researchers and caregivers, too, she concedes. 鈥淏ut everyone working in this field wants to help people with these types of thoughts and behaviors. And that passion really keeps us going.鈥� 鈥� Steve Giegerich