Assessing the Validity of the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions in Black Youth

Given the increasing rates of suicide and nonfatal suicide attempts among Black youth in the United States, it is crucial that screening tools are valid in identifying Black youth at risk of suicide.

This study assessed the validity of the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) among Black youth.

This analysis used pooled data from 3 ASQ validation studies of pediatric medical patients aged 10-21 years. All participants completed the ASQ and the gold standard Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire.

Of the 1083 participants, 330 (30.5%) were non-Hispanic Black and 753 (69.5%) were non-Hispanic White. ASQ psychometric properties for Black and White participants were equivalent (sensitivity = 94% vs. 90.9%; specificity = 91.4% vs. 91.8%, respectively).

There were no significant differences in ASQ psychometric properties between Black and White youth, indicating that the ASQ is valid for screening Black youth at risk of suicide.