Prospective Development and Validation of the Computerized Adaptive Screen for Suicidal Youth

Source:

King CA, Brent D, Grupp-Phelan J, et al. Prospective Development and Validation of the Computerized Adaptive Screen for Suicidal Youth. JAMA Psychiatry. 2021;78(5):540–549. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.4576

Key Points

Question  Can use of a computerized adaptive screen reliably predict a youth suicide attempt within 3 months?

Findings  This prognostic study with a derivation cohort of 2075 adolescents and an independent prospective validation cohort of 2754 adolescents developed and validated the Computerized Adaptive Screen for Suicidal Youth (CASSY) to predict a suicide attempt within 3 months. In the independent validation cohort, the area under the curve for the CASSY was 0.87 (95% CI, 0.85-0.89) for prediction of a suicide attempt within 3 months.

Meaning  In this study, the CASSY had a strong, validated classification accuracy, and it may improve recognition of youth suicide risk.