Citation

King CA, Berona J, Czyz E, Horwitz AG, Gipson PY. J. Child Adolesc. Psychopharmacol. 2015; 25(2): 100-108.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Depression Center , Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/cap.2014.0049

PMID

25746114

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The feasibility and concurrent validity of adolescent suicide risk screening in medical emergency departments (EDs) has been documented. The objectives of this short-term prospective study of adolescents who screened positive for suicide risk in the ED were: 1) to examine adolescents' rate of suicidal behavior during the 2 months following their ED visits and compare it with reported rates for psychiatric samples; and 2) to identify possible predictors of acute risk for suicidal behavior in this at-risk sample.

METHOD: Participants were 81 adolescents, ages 14-19 years, seeking services for psychiatric and nonpsychiatric chief complaints, who screened positive for suicide risk because of recent suicidal ideation, a suicide attempt, and/or depression plus alcohol or substance misuse. A comprehensive assessment of suicidal behavior, using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale, was conducted at baseline and 2 month follow-up.

RESULTS: Six adolescents (7.4%) reported a suicide attempt and 15 (18.5%) engaged in some type of suicidal behavior (actual, aborted, or interrupted suicide attempt; preparatory behavior) during the 2 months following their ED visit. These rates suggest that this screen identified a high-risk sample. Furthermore, adolescents who screened positive for suicidal ideation and/or attempt plus depression and alcohol/substance misuse were most likely to engage in future suicidal behavior (38.9%).

CONCLUSIONS: In this study, use of a higher screen threshold (multiple suicide risk factors) showed promise for identifying highly elevated acute risk for suicidal behavior.

Language: en