Clinician Recommendations for the Assessment of Preteen Suicide Risk: A Qualitative Study

Objective To better understand clinician practices for assessing preteen suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) as an initial step to inform the development of a comprehensive suicide risk assessment for this age group.Method We conducted qualitative interviews with child mental health clinicians (N = 31) who routinely assess preteens and clinical researchers with expertise in child and adolescent suicide. We queried about procedures for assessing suicidality (e.g. assessment sources and informants, risk factors to be assessed), developmental considerations (e.g. children’s understanding of death), and cultural considerations (e.g. related to race/ethnicity and culture).Results Clinicians and researchers provided perspectives on best practices in assessing young children about their STBs, including the importance of rapport building, the use of clinician-administered interviews, tailoring language to the child’s developmental level, adopting a multi-informant approach, and taking into consideration how culture impacts expression and perception of STB risk.Conclusion These qualitative interviews provide valuable insights into understanding how to improve the evaluation of STBs in preteens. This research highlights the need for the development and validation of assessment tools about STBs that are explicitly designed for preteen youth to best identify those at risk.