Adolescents seen in a general hospital emergency department or psychiatrically hospitalized were followed up at one month and three months following a suicide attempt. Findings included substantial drop-out rates for psychotherapy and high rates of repeated suicide attempts by three months. Implications for disposition planning and care of such adolescents are discussed.

The effects of admission status, prior abuse, and the frequency and duration of both physical and sexual abuse on measures of suicidality for a sample of 117 hospitalized adolescents were investigated. Having been abused was found to have a significant association with the number of previous suicide attempts and to interact with the variable of admission status in measures of suicide ideation.

Adolescents who were psychiatrically hospitalized (N = 105) were classified as sexually abused, physically abused, both sexually and physically abused, or not abused, and studied to determine the prevalence of suicidal behavior and psychiatric disorders. Self-reports of hopelessness, depression, coping, and self-concept were also examined. No difference in suicidal behavior or psychiatric disorder, based on abuse history, was found, with one exception. Adolescents who were sexually abused, particularly those who experienced the most severe sexual abuse, used negative coping strategies more often than those not sexually abused. Findings suggest that symptomatology of adolescents who are psychiatrically hospitalized does not differ markedly based on history of abuse.

The Teen Addiction Severity Index (T‐ASI) is a semistructured interview that was developed to fill the need for a reliable, valid, and standardized instrument for periodic evaluation of adolescent substance abuse. A preliminary study indicated good clinical utility and satisfactory interrater reliability. This study had three objectives: 1) to determine whether the T‐ASI discriminated between hospitalized psychiatric patients with and without comorbid psychoactive substance use disorders (PSUD); 2) to determine whether T‐ASI scores were related to other indices of problem behavior; and, 3) to determine whether there was any specificity in the ratings of different domains of the instrument when compared with other criteria. The results of the study provide support for the good psychometric properties of the T‐ASI.