Child-Adolescent Suicidal Potential Index (CASPI): a screen for risk for early onset suicidal behavior.

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Psychometric Instrument Development
• Mental Health Screening

Background:

• Suicidal behavior presents a significant public health concern in children and adolescents.
• Accurate screening tools are crucial for early identification and intervention.
• Existing measures may lack comprehensive validation for this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Child-Adolescent Suicidal Potential Index (CASPI), a self-report questionnaire.
• To establish the reliability and validity of the CASPI for screening suicidal behavior risk.
• To assess the CASPI's ability to differentiate between varying levels of psychopathology and suicidal behavior.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 425 child and adolescent psychiatric patients and nonpatients completed the CASPI.
• Participants also underwent assessments for suicidal/assaultive behavior, depression, anxiety, and hopelessness.
• Factor analysis was used to determine the CASPI's underlying structure and psychometric properties.

Main Results:

• The 30-item CASPI demonstrated good internal consistency (alpha = .90) and test-retest reliability (ICC = .76).
• A unidimensional second-order factor explained 59% of the variance, with three distinct factors identified: anxious-impulsive depression, suicidal ideation/acts, and family distress.
• A CASPI total score of 11 accurately distinguished between suicidal and nonsuicidal individuals (sensitivity 70%, specificity 65%) and correlated positively with symptom severity.

Conclusions:

• The CASPI is a reliable and valid instrument for screening suicidal behavior risk in children and adolescents.
• The CASPI effectively differentiates between varying levels of psychopathology and suicidal behavior severity.
• The findings support the use of the CASPI in clinical settings for early identification of at-risk youth.