Suicide Risk Assessment Lecture Flashcards
Suicide risk assessment:
a. Can be reliably quantified by using a rating scale such as the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale.
b. Is a process for assessing risk at important clinical junctures.
c. Should be performed at every clinical contact.
d. Is not necessary for passive suicidal ideation.
b. Is a process for assessing risk at important clinical junctures.
Which of the following ethnicities has the lowest rate of suicide?
a. Native American men.
b. Hispanic women.
c. Asian men.
d. African American women.
d. African American women.
A patient reporting passive suicidal ideas:
a. Is likely a low risk for suicide.
b. May have thoughts about wanting to die her sleep.
c. Does not necessarily require a suicide risk assessment.
d. Is likely to have a personality disorder.
b. May have thoughts about wanting to die her sleep.
A man checks into a motel alone, overdoses on opioids and calls 911. He is treated in a local emergency room, medically stabilized, and then evaluated by psychiatry. His call to 911 most likely means:
a. He did not possess suicidal intent
b. His future risk of suicide will be lower than if he had not called 911.
c. He could have experienced fear in the moment and a reflexive survival instinct.
d. His attempt was a cry for help.
c. He could have experienced fear in the moment and a reflexive survival instinct.
Suicide notes:
a. Are left by about 40 to 50% of suicides.
b. May contain instructions regarding practical affairs if left by the elderly.
c. Are a definitive marker of suicidal intent.
d. Are typically very brief if left by a teenager.
b. May contain instructions regarding practical affairs if left by the elderly.
The mental disorder associated with the highest suicide risk is:
a. Anorexia nervosa.
b. major depression.
c. Schizophrenia.
d. Bipolar depression.
e. Substance-induced mood disorder.
d. Bipolar depression.
According to Joiner’s interpersonal theory of suicidal behavior:
a. Suicidal desire is caused by an intense “psych-ache”
b. Capability for suicide comes from limited exposure to fear inducing experiences.
c. Thwarted belongingness plus perceived burdensome plus capability equals suicidal desire.
d. Hopelessness and Identity diffusion equals suicidal desire.
c. Thwarted belongingness plus perceived burdensome plus capability equals suicidal desire.
A homeless patient presents to the emergency room reporting suicidal ideas and intent. He was seen in the emergency room one month ago with a similar presentation and was believed to be motivated by a desire to obtain a hospital bed during the cold winter months. During his current presentation, it will be important to:
a. Administer the SIRS or M-FAST
b. Obtain collateral from his homeless shelter to see if he was told to leave.
c. Conduct an online search to see if he has criminal charges.
d. Perform a thorough suicide risk assessment.
d. Perform a thorough suicide risk assessment.
High lethality suicide has been associated with:
a. Lifetime aggression and impulsivity.
b. Low levels of cerebrospinal fluid Serotonin.
c. Male gender.
d. Firearm ownership.
e. All of the above.
e. All of the above.
The “Suicide Prevention Contract”:
a. May protect against legal liability.
b. Has evidence-based support.
c. It should be used when discharging a patient from the emergency room.
d. Is questionable when used as a deterrent to suicide.
d. Is questionable when used as a deterrent to suicide.
Which of the following is true?
a. The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale can be used in the emergency room to clear a patient for suicide risk.
b. Classifying suicide risk into low, moderate, high strata is a statistically reliable method.
c. Active suicidal ideation has no greater predictive value with regard to future suicidal behavior than passive suicidal ideation.
d. A thorough suicide risk assessment, when combined with tests for the detection of malingering, can then distinguish malingered from genuine suicidal intent.
c. Active suicidal ideation has no greater predictive value with regard to future suicidal behavior than passive suicidal ideation.
Suicide research on “means safety” suggests:
a. restriction of one method inevitably leads to substitution with another method.
b. Suicidal Individuals tend to focus on familiar means.
c. Individuals who are restrained in the act of attempting suicide and invariably go on to die later by suicide.
d. The ubiquitous nature of suicide means renders physical barriers pointless.
b. Suicidal Individuals tend to focus on familiar means.
Which of the following has been shown to have a protective effect against suicide?
a. Microdosing of LSD in depression.
b. SSRI’s for persistent depressive disorder.
c. Clozapine for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.
d. Lithium for antisocial personality disorder.
c. Clozapine for schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.
Which of the following is true about suicide?
a. It is the fourth leading cause of death for adolescents/young adults.
b. Is the 9th leading cause of death in the United States.
c. Over 50% of inpatient suicides were on a one-to-one or 15-minute check.
d. Women use poisoning 1 1/2 more times than firearms.
c. Over 50% of inpatient suicides were on a one-to-one or 15-minute check.
