Validation of the ask suicide-screening questions (ASQ) with youth in outpatient specialty and primary care clinics

Abstract

ObjectiveValidate the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) with youth in outpatient specialty and primary care clinics. MethodThis is a cross sectional instrument validation study assessing the validity of the ASQ with respect to the standard criterion, Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (SIQ/SIQ Jr.). The sample included 515 English speaking youth ages 10–21 years old from outpatient specialty and primary care clinics. ASQ sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV/NPV), positive and negative likelihood ratios, c statistic and respective receiver operating characteristic curves were assessed. ResultsA total of 335 outpatient specialty and 180 primary care clinic participants completed the study. In outpatient specialty clinics, the ASQ showed a sensitivity of 100.0% (95% CI: 80.5–100.0%), specificity of 91.2% (95% CI: 87.5–94.1%), and NPV of 100.0% (95% CI: 98.7–100.0). In the primary care clinic, the ASQ showed a sensitivity of 100.0% (95% CI: 59.0–100.0%), specificity of 87.9% (95% CI: 82.0–92.3%), and NPV of 100.0% (95% CI: 97.7–100.0). Forty-five (13.4%) outpatient specialty clinic participants and 28 (15.6%) primary care clinic participants screened positive for suicide risk on the ASQ. ConclusionsThe ASQ is a valid screening tool for identifying youth at elevated suicide risk in outpatient clinical settings.