Citation

Garrison CZ, Lewinsohn PM, Marsteller F, Langhinrichsen J, Lann I. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 1991; 21(3): 217-230.

Affiliation

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia 29208.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1991, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

1759296

Abstract

All available assessment instruments (N = 29) used to study suicidal behaviors in adolescents and young adults (age 12-20) were collected and reviewed. Instruments were found to vary substantially in purpose, format, informat, and theoretical orientation. The items from these tools (N = 461) were categorized according to behavior type (thoughts, feelings, or actions) and content categories (death/life-related, disease-promoting/preventing, injury-producing/reducing, person-reducing/enhancing, and factual information). The majority of the items were found to assess thoughts and were focused on death-related content. Recommendations include the need for more rigorous validation of instruments, clearer operational definitions, additional normative information, and expansion of the pool of available items to encompass a broader array of self-destructive behaviors.