NCJ Number
217779
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 46 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2007 Pages: 387-395
Date Published
March 2007
Length
9 pages
Annotation
A longitudinal study of suicidal adolescents tested the validity and clinical utility of the following instruments: the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-Junior, and Suicide Probability Scale.
Abstract
All of the measures predicted suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts in the follow-up period. Participants showed mean baseline scores on self-reported depression, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, and general suicide risk comparable to or higher than those in previous studies with psychiatrically hospitalized youth. As expected, self-reported depression, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, and general risk were significantly interrelated within the total sample and within male, female, White, and Black subsamples. Intercorrelations were equally strong by gender with one exception; depression and hopelessness were more strongly related for girls than for boys. Using published cutoff scores, the Beck Hopelessness Scale and the Suicide Probability Scale were moderately to highly sensitive predictors of subsequent suicide attempts, as was the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-Junior. A total of 289 psychiatrically hospitalized, suicidal youth ages 12 to 17 participated in the study between 1998 and 2000. Self-report measures were completed at baseline. Clinician-related suicidality and suicide attempts were recorded at baseline and a 6-month follow-up. 4 tables and 30 references