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Suicide Ideation at Its Worst Point: A Predictor of Eventual Suicide in Psychiatric Outpatients
Author(s) -
Beck Aaron T.,
Brown Gregory K.,
Steer Robert A.,
Dahlsgaard Katherine K.,
Grisham Jessica R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1943-278x.1999.tb00758.x
Subject(s) - suicidal ideation , psychiatry , suicide ideation , odds ratio , suicide prevention , poison control , odds , psychological intervention , ideation , medicine , suicide attempt , injury prevention , psychology , clinical psychology , medical emergency , logistic regression , cognitive science
Scales for measuring current suicide ideation (SSI‐C), suicide ideation at its worst point in the patient's life (SSI‐W), and hopelessness (BHS) were administered to 3,701 outpatients seeking psychiatric treatment. Thirty patients from this sample eventually committed suicide, within a mean of 4 years from the initial assessment. Based on cut‐off scores derived from receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses, the SSI‐W had an odds ratio of 13.84 for predicting suicide, whereas the SSI‐C and the BHS had odds ratios of 5.42 and 6.43, respectively. The assessment of suicide ideation at its worst point identifies a subgroup of patients at relatively high risk for eventual suicide. Robust interventions and periodic monitoring for suicide ideation and hopelessness are recommended to reduce long‐term suicide risk.