Overt behavior of adolescent suicide attempters hospitalized on a general pediatrics floor

The usefulness of a direct observation assessment in evaluating adolescents hospitalized following a suicide attempt was investigated. Attempters hospitalized for medical stabilization were compared to adolescents hospitalized on the same pediatric floor by use of a modified version of the Hospitalized Adolescent Interaction Scale. Contrary to expectation, the adolescent suicide attempters did not differ significantly from medical patients regarding the activities they engaged in, interactions with others, out-of-bed behavior, or location on the floor. There were, however, significant differences between the two groups regarding affect, with the suicide attempters being rated as having more sullen facial expressions. A modest relationship was found between the self-report of depression and the activity level of the suicide attempters. These results are discussed in relation to behavior and depression during hospitalization and the role of behavior during hospitalization in disposition planning for adolescent suicide attempters.