ERIC Number: EJ1465586
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1362-3613
EISSN: EISSN-1461-7005
Available Date: 0000-00-00
The Suicide Assessment Kit-Modified Interview: Development and Preliminary Validation of a Modified Clinical Interview for the Assessment of Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior in Autistic Adults
Darren Hedley1,2; Zachary J. Williams3,4,5; Mark Deady6; Philip J. Batterham7; Simon M. Bury1; Claire M. Brown1; Jo Robinson8,9; Julian N. Trollor6; Mirko Uljarevic10; Mark A. Stokes2
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, v29 n3 p766-787 2025
The increased prevalence of suicide among autistic people highlights the need for validated clinical suicide screening and assessment instruments that are accessible and meet the unique language and communication needs of this population. We describe the preliminary preregistered psychometric validation of the Suicide Assessment Kit-Modified Interview, in a sample of 98 autistic adults (58% women, 34% men, 7% nonbinary; M[subscript AGE] = 41.65, SD = 12.96). A four-item negative affect score derived from the Suicide Assessment Kit-Modified Interview demonstrated adequate reliability ([omega] = 0.796, BCa 95% confidence interval = [0.706, 0.857]), as well as good convergent validity with related measures. Ordinal Suicide Assessment Kit-Modified Interview "categories" (1-5) demonstrated divergent validity (rs = -0.067 to 0.081) and good convergent validity, strongly correlating with mental health (rs = 0.446 to 0.744) and suicide assessment instruments (rs = 0.576 to 0.696). Suicide Assessment Kit-Modified Interview categories showed strong ability to predict participants identified by clinicians as "above low risk" of future suicide attempt (area under the curve = 0.887, posterior Mdn = 0.889, 95% credible interval = [0.810, 0.954], P[subscript AUC] > 0.8 = 0.976). Suicide Assessment Kit-Modified Interview classifications > "Category 3" provided an observed sensitivity of 0.750 (Mdn = 0.810, [0.669, 0.948], P[subscript Se] > [subscript 0.8] = 0.544) and an observed specificity of 0.895 (Mdn = 0.899, [0.833, 0.956], P[subscript Sp] >[subscript 0.8] = 0.995) for "above low risk" status. Our findings indicate that the Suicide Assessment Kit-Modified Interview is a psychometrically strong clinical assessment tool for suicidal behavior that can be validly administered to autistic adults without intellectual disability.
Descriptors: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Suicide, Screening Tests, Adults, Test Validity, Prediction, At Risk Persons, Psychometrics, Anxiety, Depression (Psychology), COVID-19, Pandemics, Mental Health, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) (DHHS/NIH); National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales
Grant or Contract Numbers: F30DC019510; T32GM007347
Author Affiliations: 1La Trobe University, Australia; 2Deakin University, Australia; 3Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, USA; 4Vanderbilt University Medical Center, USA; 5Vanderbilt University, USA; 6UNSW Sydney, Australia; 7The Australian National University, Australia; 8Orygen, Australia; 9The University of Melbourne, Australia; 10Stanford University, USA