This work presents the subject of college student suicide in a somewhat different manner. With the words of college students as they speak, write and think about their suicidal experience, the author creates a group of three dimensional personages who pop-up from this two dimensional page and become real individuals who can heighten our awareness of the effect suicide has upon individuals and the campus as an entity.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people ages 18-24. What is not always captured by this statistic is the strong emotional impact that suicide has on young people who are losing peers, friends, partners, and siblings to suicide and mental health issues. We are in a mental health crisis. There needs to be a change in the way we approach suicide and mental health, particularly on college campuses. But where do we start? I'm Fine: A Student Perspective on Suicide and Mental Health on College Campuses takes an in-depth look into what schools can be doing right now to positively impact the well-being of their students. In this book, Emily Kumpf shares perspectives, including her own personal mental health battles as well as detailed research and insights from nearly 20 leaders across the country who dedicate their lives to preventing suicide and promoting mental health. At its core, I'm Fine helps to decrease stigma, break stereotypes, provide psycho education, and increase conversations around mental health, enabling students to answer the question "How are you doing?" with more than a cursory "I'm Fine." Kumpf provides a framework and solutions to suicide prevention and improved student mental health that university leaders can incorporate on their campuses. This book can change your life, the life of a loved one, and the lives of college students across the world.

Suicide and Social Justice unites diverse scholarly and social justice perspectives on the international problem of suicide and suicidal behavior. With a focus on social justice, the book seeks to understand the complex interactions between individual and group experiences with suicidality and various social pathologies, including inequality, intergenerational poverty, racism, sexism, and homophobia. Chapters investigate the underlying and often overlooked connections that link rising rates and disproportionate concentrations of suicide within specific populations to wider social, political, and economic conditions. This edited volume brings diverse scholarly and social justice perspectives to bear on the problem of suicide and suicidal behavior, equipping researchers and practitioners with the knowledge they need to fundamentally rethink suicide and suicide prevention.

Perspectives on a Young Woman's Suicide is a unique and updated analysis of a diary left behind by "Katie," a young woman who took her own life. By drawing on clinicians, researchers, survivors of suicide loss, and those closest to Katie, this book delves into common beliefs about why people die by suicide and into the internal worlds of those who do, as well as ethical and moral questions surrounding those deaths. Several contributors discuss Katie’s suicide from the perspective of recent theories of suicide, including Joiner’s interpersonal theory and Klonsky’s three-step theory. Two contributors who have lost a child to suicide look at Katie’s diary from their perspective, one of whom discusses whether it is truly possible to prevent suicide. Finally, Katie’s sister reveals her reactions to this project and her ex-boyfriend shares his account of her death. This book is a vital addition to the library of any researcher, academic, or professional interested in suicide and suicide prevention.

While the study of suicide has a long history, much remains unknown about the phenomenon. One area of limited research is suicide among minority cultures. Recent findings suggest the Asian American population has elevated risks for suicide, contrary to previous thinking (Duldulao, Takeuchi, & Hong, 2009; Kisch, Leino, & Silverman, 2005). The risk may be particularly pernicious for Asian American young adults during transitional times such as college, which typically involve separation from familiar support networks and rapid identity development. A 2006 Cornell University newspaper article highlighted that only 14% of their student population is of Asian American descent, yet 62% of the suicides from 1996 to 2006 involved Asian American students (Ramanujan, 2006). This alarming statistic elicits the question of what culture-specific factors influence suicidality among Asian American college students.

Student wellbeing is foundational to academic success. One recent survey of postsecondary educators found that nearly 80 percent believed emotional wellbeing is a "very" or "extremely" important factor in student success. Studies have found the dropout rates for students with a diagnosed mental health problem range from 43 percent to as high as 86 percent. While dealing with stress is a normal part of life, for some students, stress can adversely affect their physical, emotional, and psychological health, particularly given that adolescence and early adulthood are when most mental illnesses are first manifested. In addition to students who may develop mental health challenges during their time in postsecondary education, many students arrive on campus with a mental health problem or having experienced significant trauma in their lives, which can also negatively affect physical, emotional, and psychological wellbeing. The nation's institutions of higher education are seeing increasing levels of mental illness, substance use and other forms of emotional distress among their students. Some of the problematic trends have been ongoing for decades. Some have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic consequences. Some are the result of long-festering systemic racism in almost every sphere of American life that are becoming more widely acknowledged throughout society and must, at last, be addressed. Mental Health, Substance Use, and Wellbeing in Higher Education lays out a variety of possible strategies and approaches to meet increasing demand for mental health and substance use services, based on the available evidence on the nature of the issues and what works in various situations. The recommendations of this report will support the delivery of mental health and wellness services by the nation's institutions of higher education.