Adolescent Suicide: Identifying Risk and Implementing Interventions
This Editor’s Choice collection was published online in August 2021. To review all collections, please visit the Editor’s Choice section of ps.psychiatryonline.org.
Suicidal ideation, attempts, and completion have been steadily increasing among U.S. adolescents, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated this problem. This trend may be related both to increases in stressors related to the pandemic and to decreases in available supports. In the absence of sufficient community-based mental health services, emergency department visits for suicide attempts have increased among adolescents in late 2020 and early 2021 relative to previous years. As adolescent suicide attempt rates appear to have increased during the pandemic, a local surge in adolescent suicide prompted the Las Vegas school district in Clark County to resume in-person education, underscoring the need for school-based identification of at-risk youths and intervention.
This Editor’s Choice collection features articles that highlight detection of youths at risk of suicide and strategies that can be implemented to reduce this risk. The first set of articles examines strategies to identify those at risk, including review of universal suicide risk screening in emergency departments, depression screening in pediatric primary care, and identification of factors associated with suicide attempt and self-injury. The second group highlights interventions for adolescents that both mental health and non–mental-health professionals can implement, including strategies that can be used during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Identifying Adolescents at Risk for Suicide
Identifying Adolescent Suicide Risk via Depression Screening in Pediatric Primary Care: An Electronic Health Record Review
Davis M, Rio V, Farley AM, et al.
Psychiatr Serv 2021; 72:163–168
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.202000207
Universal Suicide Risk Screening for Youths in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review
Cervantes PE, Seag DEM, Baroni A, et al.
Psychiatr Serv 2021; Epub ahead of print
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.202000881
Twelve-Month Suicidal Symptoms and Use of Services Among Adolescents: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey
Husky MM, Olfson M, He J-P, Nock MK, et al.
Psychiatr Serv 2012; 63:989–996
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201200058
Emergency Department Use and Inpatient Admissions and Costs Among Adolescents With Deliberate Self-Harm: A Five-Year Follow-Up Study
Goldman-Mellor S, Phillips D, Brown P, et al.
Psychiatr Serv 2020; 71:136–143
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201900153
Utilization Patterns at a Specialized Children’s Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program
Gerson R, Havens J, Marr M, et al.
Psychiatr Serv 2017; 68:1104–1111
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201600436
Medically Treated Self-Injury Among Children and Adolescents: Repeated Attempts and Service Use Over 1 Year
Adrian M, DeCou C, Gold LS
Psychiatr Serv 2020; 71:447–455
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201900152
Behavioral Health Diagnoses Among Children and Adolescents Hospitalized in the United States: Observations and Implications
Egorova NN, Pincus HA, Shemesh E, et al.
Psychiatr Serv 2018; 69:910–918
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201700389
Rehospitalization of Suicidal Adolescents in Relation to Course of Suicidal Ideation and Future Suicide Attempts
Czyz EK, Berona J, King CA
Psychiatr Serv 2016; 67:332–338
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201400252
Interventions to Target Adolescents at Risk for Suicide
Safety Planning Intervention for Adolescents: Provider Attitudes and Response to Training in the Emergency Services Setting
Bettis AH, Donise KR, MacPherson HA, et al.
Psychiatr Serv 2020; 71:1136–1142
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201900563
Reduction of Postdischarge Suicidal Behavior Among Adolescent Through a Telephone-Based Intervention
Rengasamy M, Sparks G
Psychiatr Serv 2019; 70:545–552
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201800421
Teen Options for Change: An Intervention for Young Emergency Patients Who Screen Positive for Suicide Risk
King CA, Gipson PY, Horwitz AG, et al.
Psychiatr Serv 2015; 66:97–100
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201300347
Schools as a Vital Component of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health System
Hoover S, Bostic J
Psychiatr Serv 2021; 72:37–48
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201900575
Collaborating to Provide Early-Intervention Services to Persons in England With First-Episode Psychosis
England E, Lester H, Birchwood M
Psychiatr Serv 2009; 60:1484–1488
https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.2009.60.11.1484
Transformation of Children’s Mental Health Services: The Role of School Mental Health
Hoover Stephan S, Weist M, Kataoka S, et al.
Psychiatr Serv 2007; 58:1330–1338
https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/ps.2007.58.10.1330
Need for Mental Health Services and Service Use Among High School Students in China
Wu P, Li L-P, Jin J, et al.
Psychiatr Serv 2012; 63:1026–1031
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201200090
Services for Adolescents With Psychiatric Disorders: 12-Month Data From the National Comorbidity Survey–Adolescent
Costello EJ, He J-P, Sampson NA, et al.
Psychiatr Serv 2014; 65:359–366
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201100518
Unmet Needs for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Among Northern Plains American Indian Adolescents
Novins DK, Beals J, Sack WH, et al.
Psychiatr Serv 2000; 51:1045–1047
