Predictive and concurrent validity of the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire among American Indian adolescents

Abstract

Suicide is currently the second leading cause of death for ages 15-24 years; reports indicate that 6-8% of American teens have attempted suicide. Rates of suicide and suicide attempts are at least as high, if not higher, for American Indian adolescents and young adults. The Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (Junior High School Version) (SIQ-JR) could be used to identify young people who may be at risk for attempting suicide, since this questionnaire focuses on suicidal ideation, a major risk factor for suicide attempt. However, little is known about the predictive validity of the SIQ-JR, particularly in American Indian adolescent populations. A suicide attempt cluster at an American Indian boarding school provided the unique opportunity to examine the performance of the SIQ-JR in a group of American Indian high school students who had taken the SIQ-JR approximately 2 months prior to the outbreak of attempts. The SIQ-JR proved to be an excellent predictor of future suicide attempts when compared to other measures of distress: anxiety, depression, and alcohol use. The SIQ-JR is an effective screener for suicide risk in this American Indian adolescent population.

The Columbia SuicideScreen: Validity and Reliability of a Screen for Youth Suicide and Depression

“…In a small but unique study, the SIQ-JR was used to predict suicidality in the context of a very intense epidemic of suicidal behavior over the short term. It attained sensitivity of 0.80, specificity of 0.86, and a positive predictive value of 27% when using a future attempt as the criterion (Keane et al, 1996), but it is not clear how this would generalize to a less-acute community sample.…”

American Indian college student suicide: risk, beliefs, and help-seeking preferences

“…Only one, supportive, validation study of a standard early adolescent risk measure was identified (Keane, Dick, Bechtold, & Manson, 1996). Brief (sometimes single item) ideation, attempt, and likelihood questions very similar to those of the SRQ, have, however, received wide use in studies of American Indians of varying tribal affiliations and age groups (e.g., Blum, Harmon, Harris, Bergeisen, & Resnick, 1992;Dinges & Duong-Tran, 1993Grossman, Milligan, & Deyo, 1991;HowardPitney, LaFromboise, Basil, September, & Johnson, 1992;Norton, Rockman, Malan, Cox, & Hewitt, 1995).…”

Evaluating Iatrogenic Risk of Youth Suicide Screening Programs

“…Reliability of the SIQ-JR is high, ranging from 0.91 to 0.96 [40][41][42] for internal consistency and from 0.87 to 0.93 for test-retest reliability (0.89 overall; 0.87 for adolescent girls and 0.93 for adolescent boys). 42 The SIQ-JR has demonstrated criterion validity, 22,40,42,43 construct validity in community 41,42,[44][45][46][47] and Interim Depression and Suicidal Ideation. During the second survey, 2 questions directly assessed participants' subjective experiences of depression and suicidal ideation after the first survey: "Since the first survey, have you felt depressed?…”