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Suicide Ideation in Adolescents Following Inpatient Hospitalization: Examination of Intensity and Lability Over 6 Months
Author(s) -
Peters Jessica R.,
Mereish Ethan H.,
Solomon Joel B.,
Spirito Anthony S.,
Yen Shirley
Publication year - 2019
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/sltb.12448
Subject(s) - lability , borderline personality disorder , psychosocial , psychology , clinical psychology , intensity (physics) , poison control , suicidal ideation , injury prevention , personality , psychiatry , medicine , medical emergency , chemistry , biochemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , social psychology
Understanding suicide ideation ( SI ) in adolescents, especially during the high‐risk time following hospitalization for a suicidal event, is a crucial component of improving risk assessment. Most studies rely on single assessments of SI , despite the potential for SI to vary considerably over time. This study examined how indices of SI intensity (mean values) and lability (mean squared successive difference values) over a 6‐month period predict suicide attempts ( SA s) and self‐harm, as well as how they relate to psychosocial risk factors and affective functioning, in a sample of 103 adolescents hospitalized for a SA or significant SI . Across the sample, SI intensity, but not lability, was associated with SA s and nonsuicidal self‐injury at 6‐month follow‐up. SI intensity performed similarly to single time point SI assessments, and its relations were not moderated by SI lability. SI intensity was also associated with borderline personality disorder criteria and a history of sexual abuse. In contrast, SI lability was associated with greater negative affect intensity and lability. These findings suggest that intensity of SI may confer more risk posthospitalization, and provide support for using these statistical methods to capture two distinct parameters of SI .