Accessibility and Utility of an Electronic Self-Guided Safety Plan for Adolescents

Suicidal thoughts and behaviors are a leading cause of death, injury, and hospitalization among adolescents. Few evidence-based interventions exist, and these tend to be inaccessible for most youth. Electronic safety plan interventions represent a new avenue to disseminate an evidence-based suicide prevention tool. However, it is not clear whether youth find electronic, self-guided safety plans helpful, nor whether they will use the resulting safety card when experiencing suicidal thoughts or urges. This study examines adolescents' perceptions and use of an electronic, self-guided safety plan intervention.

We recruited 322 adolescents with a past-year history of suicidal thoughts or behaviors, ages 13-17 (55.9% white and non-Hispanic; majority reporting diverse sexual orientations and genders) online via social media to participate in this two-part longitudinal study. At baseline, participants completed the electronic safety plan interventions and reported on key aspects of its usefulness and areas of improvement. Participants reported their use and perceptions of the plan one month later.

Results suggested that adolescents understood, liked, and believed they would use a self-guided safety plan. One month later, about ⅓ of youth who experienced suicidal thoughts or urges used their safety card. Open-ended responses highlighted several features that adolescents enjoyed, including clarity, ease of use, and privacy. Participants also highlighted key areas for improvement, including formatting and language.

This study provides initial support for adolescent use of electronic self-guided safety plans. Next steps include updating this intervention based on youth feedback and testing the effectiveness of this tool using gold standard research methods.