Suicidal Ideation Comes to Surface: A Suicide Stem Completion Measurement for Implicit Suicide Risk

Suicidal ideation tends to be hidden, limiting the ability of current assessment tools to reliably identify at-risk individuals. Based on the spreading activation model, this study developed the Suicide Stem Completion Measurement (SSCM) as an implicit assessment tool. First, the stem was determined and evaluated by experts. Subsequently, 2,250 adolescents were recruit from two middle schools to completed the SSCM and other relevant measures. Finally, an exploratory study with a small sample compared participants based on interviews and questionnaires, both of which confirmed the presence of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors. The results showed that: (1) The single-dimensional structure of the SSCM was good; (2) The scale showed acceptable internal consistency and split-half reliability; (3) Different clusters were effectively distinguished, and good correlations with various criterion validity were demonstrated; (4) The ROC curve analysis showed that SSCM achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 76% in assessing suicide risk; (5) Participants with self-injury thoughts and behaviors from interviews and questionnaire scored significantly differently on the SSCM compared to the control group, but there was no significant difference between the two risk groups. These findings indicate that the SSCM demonstrates potential utility as an effective tool for assessing suicide risk.