AAS Youth & Adolescent Suicide Prevention 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which communication pattern is most associated with suicide contagion among adolescents?
- Detailed media coverage glorifying the method and victim (Correct answer)
- Brief factual reporting focused on prevention resources
- Anonymous online discussion in monitored forums
- Peer-led classroom discussions with a trained counselor
Correct answer: Detailed media coverage glorifying the method and victim
Detailed, sensationalized media reporting that romanticizes the victim or describes the method increases contagion risk among vulnerable youth.
Question 2: A 15-year-old discloses a plan to overdose on a parent's medication tonight. The FIRST action the clinician should take is:
- Schedule a follow-up appointment for tomorrow
- Assess lethality and means access immediately (Correct answer)
- Notify the school counselor
- Administer a standardized depression screening
Correct answer: Assess lethality and means access immediately
When a specific plan and timeframe are disclosed, immediate lethality and means assessment is the priority to determine level of care needed.
Question 3: Which of the following is a key principle of the Zero Suicide framework as applied to youth-serving organizations?
- Suicide risk is the sole responsibility of licensed clinicians
- All staff should receive training to identify and respond to at-risk youth (Correct answer)
- Risk screening should only occur during intake
- Peer supporters should manage crisis intervention independently
Correct answer: All staff should receive training to identify and respond to at-risk youth
Zero Suicide emphasizes a system-wide, whole-workforce approach where every staff member is trained to identify and support at-risk individuals.
Question 4: The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) categorizes suicidal ideation along which primary dimension?
- Frequency and triggers of depressive episodes
- Intensity and specificity of intent and plan (Correct answer)
- Family history and genetic vulnerability
- Academic performance and social withdrawal
Correct answer: Intensity and specificity of intent and plan
The C-SSRS assesses ideation severity based on intensity, frequency, duration, and specificity of plan and intent.
Question 5: When conducting means restriction counseling with parents of a suicidal teen, the clinician should emphasize:
- Locking away only firearms since other methods are less lethal
- Removing or securing ALL potentially lethal means in the home (Correct answer)
- Relying on the adolescent's promise not to use household items
- Focusing only on medication storage since teens prefer overdose
Correct answer: Removing or securing ALL potentially lethal means in the home
Means restriction counseling must address all potentially lethal items because reducing access to any means lowers overall risk.
Question 6: Which population of adolescents has been consistently identified in research as having disproportionately elevated suicide rates in the US?
- Asian American females aged 12–14
- Non-Hispanic White males in suburban areas
- American Indian and Alaska Native youth (Correct answer)
- Hispanic females in urban settings
Correct answer: American Indian and Alaska Native youth
American Indian and Alaska Native youth experience the highest suicide rates of any racial/ethnic group in the United States.
Question 7: Which school-based program model has the strongest evidence base for reducing adolescent suicidal ideation?
- Peer-only support groups without adult supervision
- Skills-based universal prevention programs like SOS Signs of Suicide (Correct answer)
- Zero-tolerance discipline policies for self-harm disclosures
- Mandatory weekly mental health assemblies
Correct answer: Skills-based universal prevention programs like SOS Signs of Suicide
SOS Signs of Suicide is a universal school-based program with randomized controlled trial evidence showing reductions in suicidal ideation and attempts.
AAS Youth & Adolescent Suicide Prevention 2
Which communication pattern is most associated with suicide contagion among adolescents?