Adolescent Suicide Attempt Prevention Predictors of Response to a Cognitive-Behavioral Family and Youth Centered Intervention

Course overview

This course is based upon material published in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior and is available as an open access article. Objective: Suicide is a leading cause of adolescent death. Recent data support the efficacy of cognitive behavioral treatments with strong family components for reducing suicide risk however, not all youth benefit from current interventions. Identifying predictors of treatment response can inform treatment selection and optimize benefits. Method: This study examines predictors of response to a DBT-informed cognitive behavioral family treatment (SAFETY), among 50 youth with recent suicide attempts/self-harm. Youth and parents were assessed at baseline and posttreatment. Results: Results indicated medium-to-large effect sizes for SAFETY on youth suicidal behavior (SB defined as suicide attempts, aborted attempts, and planning), depression, hopelessness, social adjustment, and parental depression. Classification tree analysis, with a correct classification rate of 93.3 percent, and follow-up logistic analyses indicated that 35 percent of youths reporting active SB at baseline reported active SB at post-treatment, whereas post-treatment SB was rare among youths whose active suicidality had resolved by the baseline assessment (5 percent). Among youths reporting baseline SB, those endorsing sleep problems were more likely to report post-treatment SB (53 percent) versus those without sleep problems (0 percent). Conclusions: These findings highlight the potential value of personalized treatment approaches based on pretreatment characteristics and the significance of baseline SB and sleep problems for predicting treatment response. This course on adolescent suicide attempt prevention is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. This course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop or increase their knowledge of adolescent suicide prevention. The course material includes a literature review of interventions. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require clinical continuing education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article which includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading and others do not. A major benefit of reading research-based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: Kalina N. Babeva, Alexandra M. Klomhaus, Catherine A. Sugar, Olivia Fitzpatrick, and Joan R. Asarnow Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding adolescent suicide attempt prevention. Specifically, a professional will: Recognize the SAFETY Treatment model Summarize results of the study Explain the effect of sleep problems as a predictor of treatment response Citation: Babeva, Kalina, et al. Adolescent Suicide Attempt Prevention: Predictors of Response to a Cognitive-Behavioral Family and Youth Centered Intervention. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior 50(1). February, 2020.