Prediction of Suicide Attempts and Suicide-Related Events Among Adolescents Seen in Emergency Departments

Source:

Brent DA, Horowitz LM, Grupp-Phelan J, et al. Prediction of Suicide Attempts and Suicide-Related Events Among Adolescents Seen in Emergency Departments. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(2):e2255986. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.55986

Key Points

Question  How do the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) and the Computerized Adaptive Screen for Suicidal Youth (CASSY) instruments compare in predicting suicide attempts (SAs) among adolescents?

Findings  In a longitudinal cohort study of 2740 youths seen in pediatric emergency departments with a 3-month follow-up, both ASQ and CASSY showed strong predictive validity and similar sensitivity and specificity in predicting future SAs. Both ASQ and CASSY performed similarly among patients with physical symptoms; the CASSY more accurately predicted SAs for those with psychiatric symptoms.

Meaning  This study suggests that for universal screening, both instruments perform well among patients with physical symptoms, but for the small subset of youths with psychiatric symptoms, the CASSY has greater predictive validity.