Asking teens about suicide won't increase the odds of their committing suicide, a study suggests.

Lead researcher Madelyn Gould of New York State Psychiatric Institute and colleagues surveyed more than 2,300 students at six New York high schools.

No result exhibited increased distress or suicidal thoughts after participating, including at-risk individuals with a history of suicide attempts, depression, or drug abuse.

"On the contrary, the findings suggested that asking about suicidal ideation or behavior may have been beneficial for students with depression symptoms or previous suicide attempts," said Madelyn Gould in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Our findings can allay concerns about the potential harm of high school-based suicide screening," she said.

Those results bolster the idea that asking troubled teens about suicide gives them a chance to "unburden themselves," while not asking may signal "that you don't care," said Lenny Berman, executive director of the American Association of Suicidology.

(Xinhua News Agency/Agencies April 6, 2005)