Dimensions of Suicidality: Analyzing the Domains of the SIS-MAP Suicide Risk Assessment Instrument and the Development of a Brief Screener

Authors

Megan Johnston
Charles Nelson
Amresh Shrivastava

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

July 2013

Journal

Archives of Suicide Research,

Volume

17

Abstract

This study aimed at validating the domains of suicidality assessed by the Scale for Impact of Suicidality—Management, Assessment and Planning of Care (SISMAP) and creating a brief screener based on the full scale. A total of 50 individuals with suicidal ideation were given the SIS-MAP interview. Support was found for these domains of suicide risk; in particular, the subscales of ideation and protective factors for suicide risk were highly reliable. For each domain of suicidality, items most predictive of total risk index scores were selected to create a brief screener aimed at expediting the assessment process. The screener was reliable, predicted overall suicide risk index scores, and approached significance in predicting subsequent suicide attempts.