易胜博官网

听

Michael Staley didn鈥檛 plan to be the first person in America to have his job, but his life experiences were preparing him for exactly that.

Staley, a doctoral candidate in sociology at 易胜博官网, has been for his work as Utah鈥檚 psychological autopsy examiner, a post in the Office of the Medical Examiner that was created by the legislature in direct response to the state鈥檚 suicide problem.

Headlines about celebrity suicides have been dominating recent news cycles, and indicates suicide rates have been on the climb across the country in the past 20 years. The (NIMH), referencing the , which examined data from 1999 to 2016, lists suicide as the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and the听second most common cause of death for individuals between the ages of 10 and 34. In the 17-year period covered by the CDC report, the suicide rate increased 28 percent.

Staley鈥檚 first-of-its-kind job is aimed at changing those statistics in Utah and could provide a blueprint for other states.

听

听

Montana to Durham to Utah

鈥淚 went to a small high school in Montana,鈥� Staley explains, 鈥渟o while you didn鈥檛 know everyone well, you did know everyone.鈥� During the course of one year, seven of those students lost their lives: four in car accidents, three to suicide. 鈥淚t was like every month 鈥� that鈥檚 what it felt like 鈥� the whole school just in mourning; teachers are crying, and students are lining up for counselors and retiring jerseys and lighting candles. I don鈥檛 think that I could talk about or write about my high school experience without talking about how those deaths impacted our school and our families.鈥�

Parents warned their children about the importance of wearing seatbelts each time a car crash claimed another teen鈥檚 life, he recalls, but there was no explanation offered for the other deaths. Suicide was a subject no one was willing to touch. That changed during Staley鈥檚 undergraduate sociology course at Carroll College

The 易胜博官网 Factor

Before Michael Staley departed for Utah, he was very involved on campus.

While pursuing his doctorate in sociology, Staley also served on the President鈥檚 Commission on the Status of LGBTQ+ People. 鈥淚 was fairly recently out of the closet,鈥� he explains. 鈥淭o have the opportunity to sit on that group and hear those discussions was a powerful experience.鈥�

Staley received a Kidder Fund Award for his research in 2011. 鈥淭hat was tremendously helpful financially and empowering,鈥� Staley says, adding, 鈥淚 want to keep that legacy going in any way I can.鈥� He also served as the clerk on the Graduate Student Senate for two years and was very involved with the senate's executive leadership.

鈥淭he sociology department inspired and encouraged curiosity in ways that some of my other sociological colleagues have not experienced,鈥� Staley says. 鈥淲ithout that kind of curiosity, I would never have landed where I am now. I can thank my department for preparing me technically in many ways and, more so, for allowing me to listen to the pulse in a group of people and follow it.鈥�

鈥淚n that class, I learned about how suicide was categorized,鈥� he explains. 鈥淚t helped me understand some reasons as to why someone could be suicidal. The professor sat in front of the desk and said in some really tangible ways, 鈥楬ere鈥檚 how you know your roommate needs help.鈥� It was a discussion with real-world risk applications.鈥�

Three years after graduation, Staley decided to pursue his advanced degree in sociology. 鈥�Murray Strauss and were on my radar,鈥� he says, referring to two 易胜博官网 stalwarts in sociology. 鈥淚 decided I had to go to 易胜博官网,鈥� Staley says, adding he had also discovered and her research into the sociology of AIDS. 鈥淪he is still my advisor while I鈥檓 finishing my Ph.D鈥�

Staley recalls, 鈥淭hat summer, moving to 易胜博官网, I decided I was going to be out and proud.鈥� As a result, he began to learn more about risk factors for LGBTQ individuals. As he continued his graduate study, he says, he subsequently became interested in the issues LGBTQ Mormons in Utah were facing.

Staley relocated to Utah to begin working with at-risk populations while preparing his dissertation. 鈥淚 came to Utah with the intention of attempting to better understand the rapid increase in the incidence rate of sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut when I entered the field, I realized that gay, bisexual, queer and questioning Latter-day Saint (LDS) young men were coming out, dating and finding partners for casual sex in ways that I had not seen in other places, nor were these types of interactions documented in the sociological literature.鈥� His dissertation is currently being reviewed by his committee at 易胜博官网, he explains, 鈥渂ut the results indicate that gay, bisexual and queer and questioning LDS young men had to come out twice: the first as a celibate-but-out gay, bisexual or queer man and then a second time, some time later, as a sexually active, romantically interested gay, bisexual or queer man.鈥�

While working on his dissertation, Staley learned about the new post in the Office of the Medical Examiner.

鈥淚 knew I probably would not have a career studying the intersection of sexuality and religion,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut these men were at high risk, and many of them were suicidal. During my first months in Utah, I encountered individuals who were struggling with suicidal thoughts and who had made a plan. I knew this had to become my area of expertise.鈥� And when Utah鈥檚 legislature created the psychological autopsy examiner position, Staley had to apply. "I am not assuming that the religious circumstances of LGBTQ people are driving the high suicide rate," he adds, noting there is much research to be done on the degree to which LGBTQ youth and adults are affected by suicide before quesitons of "why" can be tackled.

Science of Prevention听

鈥淭his job is one of a kind. There is not another person in the country who does what I do in a state-centralized medical examiner鈥檚 office,鈥� Staley says of his position in Utah鈥檚 Office of the Medical Examiner. 鈥淭his is the kind of job you read about 鈥� it鈥檚 the kind of job your professor tells you would have been cool to have.鈥�

Utah鈥檚 legislature created the position in response to the state鈥檚 high suicide rate with the long-term goal of gathering data to better address the issue.

听

听

Staley describes his work in two tiers: First, there鈥檚 all the data the office can possibly collect about the deceased 鈥� including educational, medical and court records 鈥� and then there鈥檚 what Staley learns in his interviews. 鈥淚 go out and start speaking to usually a parent or a spouse first, someone who knew that person best, and then I try to find at least three other people who knew that person well.鈥�

At the end of those interviews? 鈥淚鈥檓 exhausted. They鈥檙e exhausted, and then we come back with this really rich, dense information,鈥� he says.

Staley then examines the information gathered through the data collection and interview phases. The goal is to look for trends and patterns to better inform suicide prevention efforts. 鈥淔or example,鈥� he says, 鈥渨e know that adolescent males are not seeking help; we can gear prevention efforts toward that need.鈥�

While suicide does not discriminate 鈥� anyone can be at risk 鈥� the NIMH lists several risk factors to be considered, including exposure 鈥渢o others' suicidal behavior, such as that of family members, peers or celebrities.鈥�

That is something Staley has seen firsthand.

鈥淭here are deaths we know are going to have a huge impact on their community, people who are well-known. We know that families who have had a suicide death are at risk all the more. We are learning 鈥� and we don鈥檛 understand it in a broad sense 鈥� that suicide is contagious,鈥� Staley says. 鈥淲hen we introduce suicide as a method of coping with life鈥檚 stressors, other people will get that suggestion or idea, and it becomes part of the menu of options. It is such an important issue, but it is such a difficult issue to talk about correctly.鈥�