Suicide is a grave concern among adolescents and young adults, with rates tragically escalating over the last decade and a half. Timely and accurate suicide risk assessment is crucial to combat this trend. The Kiddie Computerized Adaptive Test Suicide Scale (K-CAT-SS), a concise digital tool designed to evaluate suicidality, has emerged as a promising solution. This study rigorously examined the K-CAT-SS’s capability to forecast suicide attempts (SAs) in young individuals at elevated risk.
The research involved 652 participants aged 12 to 24 years. Notably, 78% of these individuals were already exhibiting suicidal thoughts or behaviors when recruited, all within a month of seeking mental health support. At the study’s outset, each participant completed the K-CAT-SS assessment, which scores on a scale from 0 to 100. Their progress was then monitored at roughly 1, 3, and 6-month intervals post-enrollment. Weekly suicide attempt occurrences were tracked using the Adolescent Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation and the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale. A secondary focus was broader suicidal behavior, encompassing actual attempts as well as those that were aborted or interrupted.
The findings revealed a significant correlation: for every 25-point increase on the baseline K-CAT-SS score, the likelihood of suicide attempts rose by 4.91 times (95% CI 2.83-8.52). Similarly, suicidal behaviors increased by 3.51 times (95% CI 2.32-5.30) for the same score increment. These strong associations remained even after accounting for previous suicide attempts, demographic factors like age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and other indicators of psychopathology. No factors were found to moderate these effects. Impressively, at the 3-month mark, the K-CAT-SS demonstrated an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.83 (95% CI 0.72-0.93) for predicting one or more suicide attempts.
In conclusion, the K-CAT-SS stands out as a highly effective instrument for suicide risk stratification. Its utility is particularly pronounced in high-risk populations, where other assessment methods have shown limitations in predictive accuracy. The K-CAT offers a robust and rapid method for identifying young individuals who are most vulnerable, enabling timely intervention and potentially saving lives.
