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Suicide risk assessment: searching for true positive

  • Evan Podolak EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: November 28, 2014

Abstract

Suicide is a major public health problem and the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. Due to low base rates and the numerous comorbid risk factors associated with suicide, accurate prediction is difficult. This is particularly true for adolescents and young adults. In this article, some associated risk factors are discussed in the context of two high-risk populations (young adult prison inmates and young adult veterans) and several recommendations are made for conducting suicide risk assesments. General prescriptions for intervention are also outlined with the goal of reducing overly defensive practice and increasing the likelihood that high-risk individuals will receive effective intervention. Finally, several suggestions for future research are made.


Corresponding author: Evan Podolak, PsyD, Suicide Prevention Coordinator, James J Peters VA Medical Center, 130 West Kingsbridge Rd, Bronx, NY 10468, USA, E-mail:

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Received: 2014-7-23
Accepted: 2014-9-4
Published Online: 2014-11-28
Published in Print: 2015-5-1

©2015 by De Gruyter

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