Immersive and Reflective Recall of a Suicidal Episode: Implications for Assessing and Treating Suicidal Adolescents
Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
Abstract
Objective: The present study tested the validity and clinical utility of adolescents’ reports of two distinct modes of processing during the recall of a suicidal episode in the Suicide Narrative Interview (SNI). Recall Intensity (RI) items were designed to capture a tendency to become immersed in thoughts and feelings during the interview, while Meaning Making (MM) items were designed to assess more distant and reflective processing. Method: The construct and predictive validity of pretreatment MM and RI was tested in a 16-week randomized clinical trial (RCT) for depressed and suicidal adolescents (N = 113, Mage = 14.95, 84.1% female, 51.8% Black/African American). Adolescents rated MM and RI immediately following the SNI during a baseline assessment. Results: Baseline MM was associated with protective factors related to reduced suicidality, and RI was associated with several risk factors for suicidal symptoms. Adolescents who reported high MM and low RI reported greater reductions in both suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms during the RCT. Conclusions: The results support MM and RI as two distinct modes of how adolescents process memories of suicidal episodes and highlight the potential clinical utility of RI and MM in assessing and treating suicidal adolescents.
What is the public health significance of this article?
Identifying both risk and protective factors for adolescent suicidality is imperative for effective assessment and treatment. The present study extends prior research by testing the validity of Meaning Making (MM) and Recall Intensity (RI) as two modes of processing while recalling a past suicidal episode. Results support MM as a protective factor and RI as a risk factor and demonstrate that attachment-based family therapy and family-enhanced nondirective supportive therapy were particularly effective in reducing suicidal ideation and depression in teens reporting high MM and low RI at the start of treatment.
Description
© American Psychological Association, 2023. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. The final article is available, upon publication in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, at: https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000829
Keywords
adolescence, suicide, meaning making, suicide narrative, treatment response
Citation
Zisk, A., Abbott, C. H., Ewing, E. S. K., Fitter, M. H., Diamond, G. S., & Kobak, R. (2023). Immersive and reflective recall of a suicidal episode: Implications for assessing and treating suicidal adolescents.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000829