AAS Risk Assessment & Screening Tools 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which brief screening tool asks only three questions and was validated for use with adolescents in non-psychiatric medical settings?
- PHQ-9
- ASQ (Ask Suicide-Screening Questions) (Correct answer)
- C-SSRS
- SBQ-R
Correct answer: ASQ (Ask Suicide-Screening Questions)
The ASQ consists of four ultra-brief questions and has been validated in pediatric and adolescent medical settings for rapid suicide screening.
Question 2: The Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R) assesses which domains? (Select the BEST answer)
- Only past attempt history
- Lifetime ideation/attempts, frequency, communication of intent, and likelihood of future attempt (Correct answer)
- Current mood state and vegetative symptoms
- Social support quality and coping skills
Correct answer: Lifetime ideation/attempts, frequency, communication of intent, and likelihood of future attempt
The SBQ-R's four items span lifetime ideation or attempts, past-year ideation frequency, threat communication, and self-rated likelihood of a future attempt.
Question 3: Which of the following findings during a risk assessment should prompt IMMEDIATE escalation of care regardless of other protective factors?
- Passive ideation without plan or intent
- Active ideation with a specific lethal plan and access to means (Correct answer)
- Chronic low-level ideation stable for months
- Ideation disclosed only to the clinician
Correct answer: Active ideation with a specific lethal plan and access to means
Active ideation combined with a specific lethal plan and access to means represents high acute risk requiring immediate intervention such as hospitalization or crisis stabilization.
Question 4: In a psychological autopsy, information is gathered primarily from:
- The decedent's medical records alone
- Multiple sources including family, friends, records, and collateral informants (Correct answer)
- Only the treating clinician's notes
- Law enforcement reports exclusively
Correct answer: Multiple sources including family, friends, records, and collateral informants
A psychological autopsy synthesizes data from multiple informants and records to reconstruct the mental state and circumstances leading to a suicide.
Question 5: The Stanley-Brown Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) differs from a 'no-suicide contract' primarily because it:
- Requires hospitalization before completion
- Is collaborative and skills-based, not a promise not to die (Correct answer)
- Is only used with adolescents
- Requires family presence during the session
Correct answer: Is collaborative and skills-based, not a promise not to die
The SPI provides a personalized, skills-based action plan developed collaboratively, whereas no-suicide contracts are simple promises that lack empirical support.
Question 6: A clinician uses the SLAP mnemonic during a risk assessment. What does each letter represent?
- Severity, Lethality, Availability, Proximity (to rescue)
- Specificity, Lethality, Availability (of means), Proximity (to rescue) (Correct answer)
- Seriousness, Likelihood, Ambivalence, Plan
- Stress, Loss, Attempt history, Protective factors
Correct answer: Specificity, Lethality, Availability (of means), Proximity (to rescue)
SLAP stands for Specificity of plan, Lethality of method, Availability of means, and Proximity to rescue—key dimensions for evaluating plan danger.
Question 7: When assessing suicide risk in older adults, which factor is particularly important to evaluate compared to younger populations?
- School performance and academic stress
- Social isolation, physical illness, and higher intent in attempts (Correct answer)
- Social media use and cyberbullying
- Peer pressure and substance experimentation
Correct answer: Social isolation, physical illness, and higher intent in attempts
Older adults have higher attempt lethality, greater social isolation, and more co-occurring physical illness, making these factors especially critical in geriatric risk assessment.
AAS Risk Assessment & Screening Tools 5
Which brief screening tool asks only three questions and was validated for use with adolescents in non-psychiatric medical settings?