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

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.