Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2009 Oct;77(5):880-93.
doi: 10.1037/a0016552.

The Youth-Nominated Support Team-Version II for suicidal adolescents: A randomized controlled intervention trial

Cheryl A King  1 , Nicole Klaus, Anne Kramer, Sanjeev Venkataraman, Paul Quinlan, Brenda Gillespie
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

The Youth-Nominated Support Team-Version II for suicidal adolescents: A randomized controlled intervention trial

Cheryl A King et al. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2009 Oct.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the Youth-Nominated Support Team-Version II (YST-II) for suicidal adolescents, an intervention based on social support and health behavior models, which was designed to supplement standard treatments. Psychiatrically hospitalized and suicidal adolescents, 13-17 years of age, were randomly assigned to treatment-as-usual (TAU) + YST-II (n = 223) or TAU only (n = 225). YST-II provided tailored psychoeducation to youth-nominated adults in addition to weekly check-ins for 3 months following hospitalization. In turn, these adults had regular supportive contact with adolescents. Adolescents assigned to TAU + YST-II had an average of 3.43 (SD = 0.83) nominated adults. Measures included the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire-Junior (SIQ-JR; W. M. Reynolds, 1988), Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised (E. O. Poznanski & H. B. Mokros, 1996), Beck Hopelessness Scale (A. T. Beck & R. A. Steer, 1993), and Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS; K. Hodges, 1996). YST-II had very limited positive effects, which were moderated by history of multiple suicide attempts, and no negative effects. It resulted in more rapid decreases in suicidal ideation (SIQ-JR) for multiple suicide attempters during the initial 6 weeks after hospitalization (small-to-moderate effect size). For nonmultiple attempters, it was associated with greater declines in functional impairment (CAFAS) at 3 and 12 months (small effect sizes). YST-II had no effects on suicide attempts and no enduring effects on SIQ-JR scores.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of participants through the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percentage of Youth-Nominated Support Persons in Varying Relationships with Youth
Figure 3
Figure 3
Changes in SIQ-JR for TAU+YST-II and TAU Only Conditions based on baseline multiple attempt status
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Achenbach TM. Manual for the Youth Self-Report and 1991 Profile. University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry; Burlington, VT: 1991.
    1. Asarnow JR, Jaycox LH, Duan N, LaBorde AP, Rea MM, Murray P, et al. Effectiveness of a Quality Improvement Intervention for Adolescent Depression in Primary Care Clinics: A Randomized Controlled Trial. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association. 2005;293(3):311–319. - PubMed
    1. Beck AT, Steer RA. Beck Hopelessness Scale Manual. Harcourt Brace; San Antonio, TX: 1993.
    1. Brent DA, Kolko DJ, Wartella ME, Boylan MB. Adolescent psychiatric inpatients' risk of suicide attempt at 6-month follow-up. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 1993;32(1):95–105. - PubMed
    1. Brown RM, Dahlen E, Mills C, Rick J, Biblarz A. Evaluation of an evolutionary model of self-preservation and self-destruction. Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior. 1999;29(1):58–71. - PubMed

Publication types