# Multimethod measurement of proximal risk for persistent suicide ideation and future attempts among adolescents

> **NIH NIH RF1** · HUNTER COLLEGE · 2022 · $293,459

## Abstract

Abstract
Suicide risk assessment in childhood is challenging, due, in part, to the lack of available developmentally-
and culturally-sensitive assessments. Little information is known about suicide ideation characteristics
among children. Ascertaining this information is critical in order to identify children at risk and to intervene to
prevent the progression to suicidal behavior. Preliminary analyses from our ongoing study of adolescents
suggest that adolescents with a persistent suicide ideation subtype have an earlier age-of-onset of ideation
than adolescents with an intermittent or brief suicide ideation subtype. Thus, an earlier onset of ideation in
childhood may be associated with more severe suicide ideation – and higher risk of suicidal behavior – in
adolescence. Earlier identification of these children would allow for targeted interventions to prevent the
progression to more severe suicidal behavior. The aims of this supplement are 1) to adapt our existing
Adolescent Suicide Ideation Interview to be administered to children and their parents by incorporating
developmentally and culturally sensitive methodologies to assess suicide ideation, such that this adapted
assessment forms part of a Childhood Suicide Ideation Interview (CSII); and 2) to administer the CSII to
children, ages 7-11, and their parents to collect preliminary data on the content and the subtypes of
childhood suicide ideation. We will adapt our interview by incorporating visual images and methods used in
ethnographic research, and we will pilot test the interview with a sample of racially and ethnically diverse
children from a Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Department in a public hospital in New York City.
This project will pave the way for the development of risk assessments that provide rich information about
the content and subtypes of childhood suicide ideation, which are needed to establish levels of care and
design treatment plans.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10599812
- **Project number:** 3RF1MH120846-01S1
- **Recipient organization:** HUNTER COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** TRACY A DENNIS
- **Activity code:** RF1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $293,459
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-07-22 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10599812

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10599812, Multimethod measurement of proximal risk for persistent suicide ideation and future attempts among adolescents (3RF1MH120846-01S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10599812. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*