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Examining suicide assessment measures for research use: Using item response theory to optimize psychometric assessment for research on suicidal ideation in major depressive disorder.

Publication ,  Journal Article
McCall, WV; Porter, B; Pate, AR; Bolstad, CJ; Drapeau, CW; Krystal, AD; Benca, RM; Rumble, ME; Nadorff, MR
Published in: Suicide Life Threat Behav
December 2021

INTRODUCTION: Progress reducing suicide death will require randomized clinical trials (RCTs) specifically targeting suicide risk. Even large RCTs may not stipulate suicide death as the primary outcome, as suicide death is relatively uncommon. Therefore, RCTs may need to specify suicidal ideation as a proxy indicator of risk. There is no consensus on the best tool for measuring suicidal ideation within RCTs. We contrasted the psychometric performance of three suicidal ideation measures to address this need. METHODS: We applied item response theory to the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSSI), the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), and the suicide item of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) for 101 outpatients with depression and suicidal ideation participating in a RCT with suicidal ideation as the primary outcome. RESULTS: All measures of suicidal ideation were equally able to detect low and very high levels of suicidal ideation. CONCLUSIONS: The choice of the specific measure of suicidal ideation in a clinical trial may be dictated by time and financial resources versus the need for granularity in the interpretation of the scores.

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Published In

Suicide Life Threat Behav

DOI

EISSN

1943-278X

Publication Date

December 2021

Volume

51

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1086 / 1094

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Suicidal Ideation
  • Psychometrics
  • Psychiatry
  • Humans
  • Depressive Disorder, Major
  • Data Collection
  • 5205 Social and personality psychology
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology
  • 4203 Health services and systems
  • 1701 Psychology
 

Citation

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McCall, W. V., Porter, B., Pate, A. R., Bolstad, C. J., Drapeau, C. W., Krystal, A. D., … Nadorff, M. R. (2021). Examining suicide assessment measures for research use: Using item response theory to optimize psychometric assessment for research on suicidal ideation in major depressive disorder. Suicide Life Threat Behav, 51(6), 1086–1094. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12791
McCall, William V., Ben Porter, Ashley R. Pate, Courtney J. Bolstad, Christopher W. Drapeau, Andrew D. Krystal, Ruth M. Benca, Meredith E. Rumble, and Michael R. Nadorff. “Examining suicide assessment measures for research use: Using item response theory to optimize psychometric assessment for research on suicidal ideation in major depressive disorder.Suicide Life Threat Behav 51, no. 6 (December 2021): 1086–94. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12791.
McCall WV, Porter B, Pate AR, Bolstad CJ, Drapeau CW, Krystal AD, et al. Examining suicide assessment measures for research use: Using item response theory to optimize psychometric assessment for research on suicidal ideation in major depressive disorder. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2021 Dec;51(6):1086–94.
McCall, William V., et al. “Examining suicide assessment measures for research use: Using item response theory to optimize psychometric assessment for research on suicidal ideation in major depressive disorder.Suicide Life Threat Behav, vol. 51, no. 6, Dec. 2021, pp. 1086–94. Pubmed, doi:10.1111/sltb.12791.
McCall WV, Porter B, Pate AR, Bolstad CJ, Drapeau CW, Krystal AD, Benca RM, Rumble ME, Nadorff MR. Examining suicide assessment measures for research use: Using item response theory to optimize psychometric assessment for research on suicidal ideation in major depressive disorder. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2021 Dec;51(6):1086–1094.
Journal cover image

Published In

Suicide Life Threat Behav

DOI

EISSN

1943-278X

Publication Date

December 2021

Volume

51

Issue

6

Start / End Page

1086 / 1094

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Suicidal Ideation
  • Psychometrics
  • Psychiatry
  • Humans
  • Depressive Disorder, Major
  • Data Collection
  • 5205 Social and personality psychology
  • 5203 Clinical and health psychology
  • 4203 Health services and systems
  • 1701 Psychology