# Development of a Scale to Assess Suicide Thoughts and Behaviors among Preteens

> **NIH NIH R01** · FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $118,996

## Abstract

Project Summary
This 2-site (Florida International University, Yale University) proposed Administrative Supplement to
Pettit/Silverman R01MH119299-01, Targeting Attention Orienting to Social Threat to Reduce Social Anxiety in
Youth, aims to refine and evaluate developmentally and culturally sensitive child and parent rating scales of
suicide thoughts and behaviors (STB) among preteens ages 9 to 12 years. As highlighted in NOT-MH-22-085,
there is critical need reconsider and adapt measures and methods used to assess STB in adolescents and adults
for preteens at risk. Toward addressing this need, we had designed an initial version of a child self-rating scale
of STB, the Suicide Risk and Ideation Scale for Kids (S-RISK), grounded in the most prominent empirically
supported ideation-to-action theories of suicide. A cornerstone of ideation-to-action is the distinction made
between suicide ideation versus suicide action. Accumulating data support this cornerstone theoretical distinction
in adults and adolescents, highlighting the need to distinguish between suicide ideation and suicide action in
screening and risk assessment approaches. In this Supplement, we propose to develop a parent-rated version
of the S-RISK and collect critically needed data on the S-RISK Child and Parent versions in preteens and their
parents. These preteens are ages 9 to 12, meet for a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, and are largely from
minoritized backgrounds (49% Hispanic, 15% Multiracial, 10% Black). In a pilot phase, we will use a mixed
methods approach including cognitive response interviewing to obtain data on the S-RISK Child and Parent in
N = 10 preteens and their parents, ensuring clear and simple language that is accessible to preteens and parents
from diverse backgrounds. In a test phase, we will administer the refined S-RISK Child and Parent to an
independent sample of N = 100 preteens and their parents. We will examine the scale's item properties,
reliability, and concurrent validity by leveraging three assessments of STB we already administer. We also will
use measures collected in the Parent Grant to examine how child and parent characteristics relate to scores on
the S-RISK Child and Parent, including sociodemographic characteristics, child burdensomeness and
belongingness, family history of mental illness, and parent experiences of depression and anxiety. Overall, data
from this Supplement will result in a scale assessing preteen STB and position us to pursue a future theory-
driven scale development R01 including evaluation of factorial validity, predictive validity, and generalization of
psychometric properties across subgroups of preteens. Further, this Supplement will advance understanding of
STB in preteens with social anxiety and related disorders and enable developmentally and culturally sensitive
testing of ideation-to-action theories of suicide.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10599684
- **Project number:** 3R01MH119299-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** JEREMY W PETTIT
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $118,996
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-04-17 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10599684

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10599684, Development of a Scale to Assess Suicide Thoughts and Behaviors among Preteens (3R01MH119299-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10599684. Licensed CC0.

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