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
Review
. 2019 Oct;60(10):1046-1054.
doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13130.

Practitioner Review: Treatment for suicidal and self-harming adolescents - advances in suicide prevention care

Joan Rosenbaum Asarnow  1 , Lars Mehlum  2
Affiliations
Review

Practitioner Review: Treatment for suicidal and self-harming adolescents - advances in suicide prevention care

Joan Rosenbaum Asarnow et al. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2019 Oct.

Erratum in

  • Corrigendum.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2019 Dec;60(12):1357. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13166. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2019. PMID: 31724194 No abstract available.

Abstract

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death globally in youths, and suicidal behavior and self-harm are major clinical concerns. This article updates the previous practitioner review (2012) with the aims of integrating new research evidence, including that reported in this Special Issue.

Methods: The article reviews scientific evidence related to steps in the care pathway for identifying and treating youths with elevated suicide/self-harm risk, specifically: (a) screening and risk assessment; (b) treatment; and (c) community-level suicide prevention strategies.

Results: Review of current evidence indicates that major advances have been achieved in knowledge regarding clinical and preventive practices for reducing suicide and self-harm risk in adolescents. The evidence supports the value of brief screeners for identifying youths with elevated suicide/self-harm risk and the efficacy of some treatments for suicidal and self-harm behavior. Dialectical behavior therapy currently meets Level 1 criteria (2 independent trials supporting efficacy) as the first well-established treatment for self-harm, and other approaches have shown efficacy in single randomized controlled trials. The effectiveness of some community-based suicide prevention strategies for reducing suicide mortality and suicide attempt rates has been demonstrated.

Conclusions: Current evidence can guide practitioners in delivering effective care for youth suicide/self-harm risk. Treatments and preventive interventions that address the psychosocial environment and enhance the ability of trusted adults to protect and support youths, while also addressing the psychological needs of youths appear to yield the greatest benefits. Although additional research is needed, our current challenge is to do our best to effectively utilize new knowledge to improve care and outcomes in our communities.

Keywords: Suicide; adolescence; prevention; screening; self-harm.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that they have no competing or potential conflicts of interest.

Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts declared.

References

    1. Adrian M, McCauley E, Berk MS, Asarnow JR, Korslund K, Avina C, et al. (2019). Predictors and moderators of recurring self-harm in adolescents participating in a comparative treatment trial of psychological interventions. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Asarnow JR, Hughes JL, Babeva KN, & Sugar CA (2017). Cognitive-behavioral family treatment for suicide attempt prevention: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(6), 506–514. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Asarnow JR, & Miranda J (2014). Improving care for depression and suicide risk in adolescents: Innovative strategies for bringing treatments to community settings. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 10, 275–303. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Asarnow JR, Baraff LJ, Berk M, Grob CS, Devich-Navarro M, Suddath R, et al. (2011). An emergency department intervention for linking pediatric suicidal patients to follow-up mental health treatment. Psychiatric services, 62(11), 1303–1309. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barzilay S, Apter A, Snir A, Carli V, Wasserman C, Hoven C, W., et al. (2019). An examination of the interpersonal theory of suicide in a prospective multinational study of adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. - PubMed

Publication types