[Assessment of acute suicide risk]

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Accurate identification of acute suicide risk is crucial for preventing suicidal behavior.
• Current methods lack sufficient data to reliably detect pre-suicidal mental states.
• The suicide crisis syndrome concept offers a framework for understanding acute risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To adapt and validate the screening test and questionnaire developed by Galynker et al. for the Hungarian population.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the adapted Acute Suicidal Risk Test (ASRT) and Rihmer’s Short Suicide Scale (RSS) in identifying acute suicide risk.
• To assess the utility of these screening tools in clinical decision-making for psychiatric admissions.

Main Methods:

• The study involved 99 patients (outpatients and inpatients) at a Hungarian clinic.
• Participants completed the Hungarian adaptation of the ASRT and RSS.
• Detailed questionnaires were administered to patients with positive screening results to assess suicide crisis syndrome symptoms.

Main Results:

• The ASRT identified suicide risk in 54.3% of outpatients and 76.6% of inpatients.
• Positive screening results significantly decreased after inpatient treatment (33.3%).
• The combination of ASRT and RSS was associated with severe suicide crisis syndrome symptoms in 29% of patients.

Conclusions:

• The adapted ASRT effectively identifies acute suicidal risk in a significant proportion of psychiatric patients.
• The suicide crisis syndrome concept and screening method can detect risk even without overt suicidal intent.
• Combined use of ASRT and RSS supports clinical decision-making, improving patient care and preventing premature discharge.