Limitations of a single-item assessment of suicide attempt history: Implications for standardized suicide risk assessment
Open accessAbstract
Although a suicide attempt history is among the single best predictors of risk for eventual death by suicide, little is known about the extent to which reporting of suicide attempts may vary by assessment type. The current study aimed to investigate the correspondence between suicide attempt history information obtained via a single-item self-report survey, multi-item self-report survey, and face-to-face clinical interview. Data were collected among a high-risk sample of undergraduates (N = 100) who endorsed a past attempt on a single-item prescreening survey. Participants subsequently completed a multi-item self-report survey, which was followed by a face-to-face clinical interview, both of which included additional questions regarding the timing and nature of previous attempts. Even though 100% of participants (n = 100) endorsed a suicide attempt history on the single-item prescreening survey, only 67% (n = 67) reported having made a suicide attempt on the multi-item follow-up survey. After incorporating ancillary information from the in-person interview, 60% of participants qualified for a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-defined suicide attempt. Of the 40% who did not qualify for a CDC-defined suicide attempt, 30% instead qualified for no attempt, 7% an aborted attempt, and 3% an interrupted attempt. These findings suggest that single-item assessments of suicide attempt history may result in the misclassification of prior suicidal behaviors. Given that such assessments are commonly used in research and clinical practice, these results emphasize the importance of utilizing follow-up questions and assessments to improve precision in the characterization and assessment of suicide risk. (PsycINFO Database Record
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Single-item assessments commonly used in research and clinical practice can lead to misclassification of prior suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
“These measures, particularly single-item assessments that are commonly used in research and clinical practice, can lead to the misclassification of prior suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) (Hom, Joiner, & Bernert, 2016).”
From Toward objective characterizations of suicide risk: A narrative review of laboratory-based cognitive and behavioral tasks (2023) · cites this paper as Hom, Joiner, & Bernert, 2016
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- Authors
- Hom, M. A., Joiner, T. E., & Bernert, R. A.
- Affiliations
- Florida State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hom, Melanie A.
- Venue
- Psychological Assessment
- Published
- 2016-08
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1026-1030
- ISSN
- 1040-3590 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-134X
- PMC
- PMC4846594
- OpenAlex
- W2465555961
- Cited by
- 203
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 24 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 5
- FWCI
- 17.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Psychological Assessment (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (F31MH080480, K23MH093490)
- Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (W81XWH-10-2–0181)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Psychological Testing and Assessment
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
- Keywords
- suicide attempt history, suicide risk assessment, self-report questionnaire, clinical interview, undergraduate students, suicide prevention
- MeSH terms
- Suicide Prevention, Adolescent, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Risk Factors, Suicide, Attempted, Risk Assessment, Young Adult, Self Report, Suicidal Ideation
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