Young Adult Follow‐up of Adolescent Girls in Juvenile Justice Using the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale

Abstract

We studied the reliability and validity of the Columbia Suicide Severity Scale (C-SSRS). Severely delinquent adolescent girls (n = 166) participated in a treatment trial and repeated assessments over time. Lifetime suicide attempt history was measured using the C-SSRS in early adulthood (n = 144; 7–12 years post-baseline). Nonclinician raters showed strong interrater reliability using the C-SSRS. Self-, caseworker-, and caregiver-reports of girls’ suicide attempt histories collected at baseline correlated with adult participants’ recollections of their baseline attempt histories. Suicidal ideation measured prospectively across a 7–12 year period was associated with retrospectively reported suicide attempt across the same period.

Juvenile justice girls’ depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation 9 years after multidimensional treatment foster care.

“…For example, prevalence of MDD among adolescent girls in detention and correctional facilities is more than twice that of their male counterparts and four to five times that of girls in the general population (Fazel, Doll, & Langstrom, 2008). Studies of delinquent adolescent girls have found that 27% to 58% have attempted suicide (Abram et al, 2008; Rohde, Seeley, & Mace, 1997; Kerr, Gibson, Leve, & DeGarmo, in press), rates that exceed those estimated for community adolescent girls [9.8% 12-month prevalence; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2012] and adolescent girls diagnosed with MDD (20%; Rohde et al, 2013). For these reasons, identifying interventions that reduce depressive symptoms and suicide risk in adjudicated girls should be a public health priority.…”

The Suicide Narrative Interview: adolescents’ attachment expectancies and symptom severity in a clinical sample

“…The C-SSRS is a semi-structured interview designed to assess severity of suicidal ideation and behavior. It has been validated in clinical samples of adults and adolescents and has demonstrated strong psychometric properties (Posner et al, 2011; Kerr, Gibson, Leve, & DeGarmo, 2014). The Intensity of Ideation subscale, which has been shown to predict future suicide attempts in adolescents and young adults presenting for emergency psychiatric services (Gipson, Agarwala, Opperman, Horwitz, & King, 2015; Horwitz, Czyz, & King, 2015), rates the individual’s most severe period of suicidal ideation (i.e., when the adolescent “was feeling the most suicidal”).…”

Predictive Validity of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale for Short-Term Suicidal Behavior: A Danish Study of Adolescents at a High Risk of Suicide

“…Third, we investigated the predictive validity of both recent suicidal behavior and ideation Predictive Validity of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale in relation to short-term suicidal behavior, which has important implications for clinical management (Glenn & Nock, 2014). Although a significant association between different dimensions of suicidality and short-term suicidal behavior (3-6 months) was reported previously (Bridge et al, 2006;Goldston et al, 1999;Huth-Bocks et al, 2007;Lewinsohn, Rohde, & Seeley, 1996), previous studies applying the C-SSRS in adolescent samples either adopted longer follow-up periods (i.e., between 12 and 18 months after baseline; Gipson et al, 2014;Horwitz et al, 2015) or did not perform a complete examination of the predictive validity of suicidal behavior and ideation (Posner et al, 2011).…”

“…A previous history of suicidal behavior is known to be one of the strongest predictors of future suicidal attempts and death by suicide (Bridge, Goldstein, & Brent, 2006;Brown, Beck, Steer, & Grisham, 2000;Posner et al, 2014;Tidemalm, Langstrom, Lichtenstein, & Runeson, 2008). However, existing studies also corroborate a significant role of suicidal ideation in the prediction of future suicidal behavior (e.g., Bebbington et al, 2010;Gipson, Agarwala, Opperman, Horwitz, & King, 2014;Greist, Mundt, Gwaltney, Jefferson, & Posner, 2014;Horwitz, Czyz, & King, 2015;Huth-Bocks, Kerr, Ivey, Kramer, & King, 2007;King, Jiang, Czyz, & Kerr, 2014;Mundt et al, 2013;Posner et al, 2011). Importantly, recent evidence suggests that suicidal ideation incrementally predicts future suicide attempts over and above previous suicidal behavior (e.g., Gipson et al, 2014;Horwitz et al, 2015;Mundt et al, 2010).…”

“…Second, unlike previous studies using the C-SSRS, we tested the predictive validity of this instrument in a sample of adolescents at high risk of suicide (see Posner et al, 2011 for an exception). The prediction of the suicidal behavior is crucial in adolescents with previous suicidal behavior and=or ideation, given the particularly high risk of engaging in fatal or non-fatal repetition observed in this group Huth-Bocks et al, 2007). Third, we investigated the predictive validity of both recent suicidal behavior and ideation Predictive Validity of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale in relation to short-term suicidal behavior, which has important implications for clinical management (Glenn & Nock, 2014).…”