Applying Computer Adaptive Testing Methods to Suicide Risk Screening in the Emergency Department

Abstract

This study models the creation of a computer adaptive test for suicide ideation and marks the start of the development of computer adaptive tests as a novel suicide risk screening tool in the emergency department. Computer adaptive tests hold promise for revolutionizing behavioral health screening by addressing barriers including time and knowledge deficits.

Development and Validation of Static and Adaptive Screeners to Assess Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior

“…Very similar findings were found in the validation sample, demonstrating the robustness of the results from the development sample. The efficiency of the optimal RMTS‐A compares favorably to other CATs for suicide risk recently developed, which required an average of 10 (Gibbons et al., ) and 3.5 (Boudreaux et al., ) items to be administered to assess individual risk. However, unlike these previous studies, which were developed in clinical populations using existing item banks, the RMTS‐A was developed in a community‐based population and utilized a newly developed suicide risk item bank.…”

“…Two recent studies (Boudreaux et al., ; Gibbons et al., ) have developed CATs for suicide using clinical populations. Gibbons et al.…”

“…On average, 3.5 items on the CAT were needed to classify a patient. The correlation between the CAT scores and those on the full BSS scale were high at r = .97 (Boudreaux et al., ).…”

“…Many of the suicide measures currently available are long, require paper-and-pencil administration, and are not freely available (Batterham, Ftanou, et al, 2015). A recent systematic review of self-report suicide measures in populationbased research identified just three measures that were brief, freely available, evidencebased, and assessed both suicidal thoughts and behaviors (Batterham, Ftanou, et al, 2015). There is a high need for the development of suicide measures that screen for suicide severity in community and research populations, as well as monitor ongoing risk for suicidal behaviors in clinical settings.…”

“…Two recent studies (Boudreaux et al, 2018;Gibbons et al, 2017) have developed CATs for suicide using clinical populations. Gibbons et al (2017) developed the Computerized Adaptive Test Suicide Scale (CAT-SS) from a large depression, anxiety, and mania item bank that included 11 suicide items.…”