Social Support and Social Stress Among Suicidal Inpatients at Military Treatment Facilities: A Multidimensional Investigation.

ABSTRACT: The associations between social support and stress with internalizing symptoms (depressive symptoms and hopelessness) and hazardous drinking were tested in an inpatient sample of suicidal military personnel. Baseline data from a randomized clinical trial were analyzed. Different sources of support and stressors in the social context of military personnel were differentially linked to internalizing symptoms and hazardous drinking. In the full sample ( n = 192), family and nonfamily support were both inversely associated with internalizing symptoms but not hazardous drinking. Family stress was positively associated with internalizing symptoms. In a subsample of service members who had a history of deployment ( n = 98), postdeployment social support was protective against internalizing symptoms, whereas deployment harassment was associated with increased odds of hazardous drinking. Results underscore the need for assessment of various dimensions of social support and stress to guide case formulation and optimize strategies to support patients' mental well-being and adaptive coping.

Risk for depression tripled during the COVID-19 pandemic in emerging adults followed for the last 8 years.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly increased depression rates, particularly in emerging adults. The aim of this study was to examine longitudinal changes in depression risk before and during COVID-19 in a cohort of emerging adults in the U.S. and to determine whether prior drinking or sleep habits could predict the severity of depressive symptoms during the pandemic. METHODS: Participants were 525 emerging adults from the National Consortium on Alcohol and NeuroDevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA), a five-site community sample including moderate-to-heavy drinkers. Poisson mixed-effect models evaluated changes in the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D-10) from before to during COVID-19, also testing for sex and age interactions. Additional analyses examined whether alcohol use frequency or sleep duration measured in the last pre-COVID assessment predicted pandemic-related increase in depressive symptoms. RESULTS: The prevalence of risk for clinical depression tripled due to a substantial and sustained increase in depressive symptoms during COVID-19 relative to pre-COVID years. Effects were strongest for younger women. Frequent alcohol use and short sleep duration during the closest pre-COVID visit predicted a greater increase in COVID-19 depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The sharp increase in depression risk among emerging adults heralds a public health crisis with alarming implications for their social and emotional functioning as this generation matures. In addition to the heightened risk for younger women, the role of alcohol use and sleep behavior should be tracked through preventive care aiming to mitigate this looming mental health crisis.

The Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act: A Description and Review of the Suicide Prevention Initiative.

The Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Memorial Act, continuously funded since 2004, has supported comprehensive, community-based youth suicide prevention efforts throughout the United States. Compared to matched communities, communities implementing GLS suicide prevention activities have lower population rates of suicide attempts and lower mortality among young people. Positive outcomes have been more pronounced with continuous years of implementation and in less densely populated communities. Cost analyses indicate that implementation of GLS suicide prevention activities more than pays for itself in reduced health care costs associated with fewer emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Although findings are encouraging, the heterogeneity of community suicide prevention programs and the lack of randomized trials preclude definitive determination of causal effects associated with GLS. The GLS initiative has never been brought fully to scale (e.g., simultaneously impacting all communities in the United States), so beneficial effects on nationwide suicide rates have not been realized.

Cannabis use and suicide risk among Gulf War veterans.

Cannabis use has been indicated as a risk factor for suicide in veterans. This study of Gulf War veterans tested the relationship between self-report past year cannabis use and (a) past year suicidal ideation and (b) risk for suicidal behavior. Data were from a national sample (N = 1126) of Gulf War veterans. Logistic regression models indicated cannabis use was associated with past year suicidal ideation and elevated risk for suicidal behavior, independent of key covariates. In corroboration with research on other military populations, this study indicates a potentially concerning association between cannabis use and suicide risk in Gulf War veterans.

Innovations in suicide prevention research (INSPIRE): a protocol for a population-based case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Suicide deaths have been increasing for the past 20 years in the USA resulting in 45 979 deaths in 2020, a 29% increase since 1999. Lack of data linkage between entities with potential to implement large suicide prevention initiatives (health insurers, health institutions and corrections) is a barrier to developing an integrated framework for suicide prevention. OBJECTIVES: Data linkage between death records and several large administrative datasets to (1) estimate associations between risk factors and suicide outcomes, (2) develop predictive algorithms and (3) establish long-term data linkage workflow to ensure ongoing suicide surveillance. METHODS: We will combine six data sources from North Carolina, the 10th most populous state in the USA, from 2006 onward, including death certificate records, violent deaths reporting system, large private health insurance claims data, Medicaid claims data, University of North Carolina electronic health records and data on justice involved individuals released from incarceration. We will determine the incidence of death from suicide, suicide attempts and ideation in the four subpopulations to establish benchmarks. We will use a nested case-control design with incidence density-matched population-based controls to (1) identify short-term and long-term risk factors associated with suicide attempts and mortality and (2) develop machine learning-based predictive algorithms to identify individuals at risk of suicide deaths. DISCUSSION: We will address gaps from prior studies by establishing an in-depth linked suicide surveillance system integrating multiple large, comprehensive databases that permit establishment of benchmarks, identification of predictors, evaluation of prevention efforts and establishment of long-term surveillance workflow protocols.

Perceived changes in social interactions following military psychiatric hospitalization for a suicidal crisis.

Introduction Changes in social interactions following psychiatric hospitalization, a period characterized by heightened suicide risk, are important to understand. OBJECTIVE: We qualitatively explored perceived changes in social interactions one month after inpatient psychiatric discharge following a suicidal crisis. METHODS: A total of 113 United States Service members, recruited in the context of a psychotherapy randomized controlled trial, described the extent to which social interactions with family members, peers, and military commanders had changed. RESULTS: Most participants (82.3%) reported at least some change in social interactions, conveying six common themes. Showing more care and checking in more were frequently reported for family (24.8%, 20.4%), commanders (23.0%, 16.8%), and by peers (12.4%, 10.6%). Showing more concern was most frequently reported for family (13.3%) followed by peers (6.2%) and commanders (6.2%). Participants reported showing more caution from peers (14.2%), commanders (13.3%) and family (6.2%). Acting more distant was reported from commanders (7.1%), peers (7.1%), and family (5.3%). Showing negative reaction(s) was reported from commanders (8.0%), family (3.5%) and rarely for peers (0.9%). CONCLUSION: Inpatient providers are encouraged to prepare patients for potential changes in social interactions following psychiatric discharge and how to best respond to these changes.

Two Studies of Connectedness to Parents and Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior in Children and Adolescents.

We tested hypotheses that greater connectedness to parent(s) is associated with lower risk for nonlethal suicidal thoughts and behavior (STB), termed direct protective effects, and that parent connectedness serves to moderate (lower) the risk for STB associated with psychopathology including major depressive episode (MDE), termed moderating protective effects. Independent samples of children and adolescents recruited for a multicenter study of familial alcoholism were studied. Generalized estimating equation models were used that adjusted for age, sex, and youth psychopathology variables. The sample for Study 1 was assessed at baseline and about 2- and 4-year follow-ups, with baseline characteristics of n = 921, M age = 14.3 ± 1.8 years, and 51.8% female. The sample for Study 2 was assessed at baseline and about 5-year follow-up, with baseline characteristics of n = 867, M age = 12.0 ± 3.2 years, and 51.0% female. In both studies, increased perceived connectedness to father but not mother was associated with lower risk for measures of STB, consistent with direct protective effects. In Study 1, measures of parent connectedness were associated with lower risk for STB but only for youth that did not experience MDE (or alcohol use disorder), inconsistent with moderating protective effects. Study 2 showed that connectedness to fathers was associated with lower risk for suicide plans or attempts (severe STB) but not frequent thoughts of death or dying (nonsevere STB). Improved connectedness to fathers may lower risk for STB in children and adolescents, consistent with direct protective effects. Hypotheses about moderating protective effects were not supported.

Impact of the Garrett Lee Smith youth suicide prevention program on suicide mortality.

OBJECTIVES: We examined whether a reduction in youth suicide mortality occurred between 2007 and 2010 that could reasonably be attributed to Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) program efforts. METHODS: We compared youth mortality rates across time between counties that implemented GLS-funded gatekeeper training sessions (the most frequently implemented suicide prevention strategy among grantees) and a set of matched counties in which no GLS-funded training occurred. A rich set of background characteristics, including preintervention mortality rates, was accounted for with a combination of propensity score-based techniques. We also analyzed closely related outcomes that we did not expect to be affected by GLS as control outcomes. RESULTS: Counties implementing GLS training had significantly lower suicide rates among the population aged 10 to 24 years the year after GLS training than similar counties that did not implement GLS training (1.33 fewer deaths per 100 000; P = .02). Simultaneously, we found no significant difference in terms of adult suicide mortality rates or nonsuicide youth mortality the year after the implementation. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the existence of an important reduction in youth suicide rates resulting from the implementation of GLS suicide prevention programming.

Unheard Voices: African American Fathers Speak about their Parenting Practices.

Researchers have called for qualitative investigations into African American fathers' parenting practices that consider their social context and identify specific practices. Such investigations can inform the way we conceptualize African American fathers' parenting practices, which can in turn contribute to prevention interventions with at-risk youth. We conducted semi-structured, qualitative interviews about parenting with 30 self-identified, African American, biological fathers of pre-adolescent sons at-risk for developing aggressive behaviors, depressive symptoms, or both. Fathers provided descriptions of their parenting practices, which were at times influenced by their environmental context, fathers' residential status, and masculine ideologies. Our systematic analysis revealed four related themes that emerged from the data: managing emotions, encouragement, discipline, and monitoring. Of particular note, fathers in the current sample emphasized the importance of teaching their sons to manage difficult emotions, largely utilized language consistent with male ideologies (i.e., encouragement rather than love or nurturance), and engaged in high levels of monitoring and discipline in response to perceived environmental challenges and the developmental needs of their sons. The findings provide deeper insight into the parenting practices of African American fathers who are largely understudied, and often misunderstood. Further, these findings highlight considerations that may have important implications for father-focused prevention interventions that support African American fathers, youth, and families.

Challenges and opportunities for improving mental health care and preventing suicide among people living with HIV: Perspectives of mental health professionals in Tanzania.

People living with HIV (PLWH) experience unique stressors that contribute to emotional distress, and PLWH are more than twice as likely to die by suicide when compared to the general population. In countries like Tanzania, there is a relatively high burden of HIV but few resources to support mental health needs. To gain a better understanding of mental health challenges experienced by PLWH in northern Tanzania and identify opportunities for intervention, we interviewed 12 mental health professionals working in the Kilimanjaro region. Thematic analysis was used to explore drivers and impacts of emotional distress, community influences on mental health, and gaps and barriers to existing mental health care. Perspectives from mental health workers highlight the compounding effects of stress related to HIV status, family conflict, finances, and other social challenges, which can lead to poor HIV treatment outcomes and suicidal ideation. Cultural beliefs and stigma surrounding both mental health and HIV limit care-seeking behavior for mental health issues. Those who do seek care often encounter barriers related to poor mental health infrastructure, including a lack of providers, limited financial resources, and little integration into other health services. There is a clear need for investment in the mental health care system, as well as interventions to improve knowledge and perceptions of mental health and comprehensively address stressors. We describe feedback on a proposed telehealth counseling intervention integrated into routine HIV services, which shows strong potential to mitigate barriers to mental health treatment, reduce suicidal ideation, and support the wellbeing of PLWH.

Identifying high school risk factors that forecast heavy drinking onset in understudied young adults.

Heavy alcohol drinking is a major, preventable problem that adversely impacts the physical and mental health of US young adults. Studies seeking drinking risk factors typically focus on young adults who enrolled in 4-year residential college programs (4YCP) even though most high school graduates join the workforce, military, or community colleges. We examined 106 of these understudied young adults (USYA) and 453 4YCPs from the National Consortium on Alcohol and NeuroDevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) by longitudinally following their drinking patterns for 8 years from adolescence to young adulthood. All participants were no-to-low drinkers during high school. Whereas 4YCP individuals were more likely to initiate heavy drinking during college years, USYA participants did so later. Using mental health metrics recorded during high school, machine learning forecasted individual-level risk for initiating heavy drinking after leaving high school. The risk factors differed between demographically matched USYA and 4YCP individuals and between sexes. Predictors for USYA drinkers were sexual abuse, physical abuse for girls, and extraversion for boys, whereas 4YCP drinkers were predicted by the ability to recognize facial emotion and, for boys, greater openness. Thus, alcohol prevention programs need to give special consideration to those joining the workforce, military, or community colleges, who make up the majority of this age group.

Brain structural covariance network features are robust markers of early heavy alcohol use.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Recently, we demonstrated that a distinct pattern of structural covariance networks (SCN) from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived measurements of brain cortical thickness characterized young adults with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and predicted current and future problematic drinking in adolescents relative to controls. Here, we establish the robustness and value of SCN for identifying heavy alcohol users in three additional independent studies. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies using data from the Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition and Genetics (PING) study (n = 400, age range = 14-22 years), the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) (n = 272, age range = 17-22 years) and the Human Connectome Project (HCP) (n = 375, age range = 22-37 years). CASES: Cases were defined based on heavy alcohol use patterns or former alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnoses: 50, 68 and 61 cases were identified. Controls had none or low alcohol use or absence of AUD: 350, 204 and 314 controls were selected. MEASUREMENTS: Graph theory metrics of segregation and integration were used to summarize SCN. FINDINGS: Mirroring our prior findings, and across the three data sets, cases had a lower clustering coefficient [area under the curve (AUC) = -0.029, P = 0.002], lower modularity (AUC = -0.14, P = 0.004), lower average shortest path length (AUC = -0.078, P = 0.017) and higher global efficiency (AUC = 0.007, P = 0.010). Local efficiency differences were marginal (AUC = -0.017, P = 0.052). That is, cases exhibited lower network segregation and higher integration, suggesting that adjacent nodes (i.e. brain regions) were less similar in thickness whereas spatially distant nodes were more similar. CONCLUSION: Structural covariance network (SCN) differences in the brain appear to constitute an early marker of heavy alcohol use in three new data sets and, more generally, demonstrate the utility of SCN-derived metrics to detect brain-related psychopathology.

Emotion regulation difficulties, youth-adult relationships, and suicide attempts among high school students in underserved communities.

To develop and refine interventions to prevent youth suicide, knowledge is needed about specific processes that reduce risk at a population level. Using a cross-sectional design, the present study tested hypotheses regarding associations between self-reported suicide attempts, emotion regulation difficulties, and positive youth-adult relationships among 7,978 high-school students (48.6% male, 49.9% female) in 30 high schools from predominantly rural, low-income communities. 683 students (8.6%) reported a past-year suicide attempt. Emotion regulation difficulties and a lack of trusted adults at home and school were associated with increased risk for making a past-year suicide attempt, above and beyond the effects of depressive symptoms and demographic factors. The association between emotion regulation difficulties and suicide attempts was modestly lower among students who perceived themselves as having higher levels of trusted adults in the family, consistent with a protective effect. Having a trusted adult in the community (outside of school and family) was associated with fewer suicide attempts in models that controlled only for demographic covariates, but not when taking symptoms of depression into account. These findings point to adolescent emotion regulation and relationships with trusted adults as complementary targets for suicide prevention that merit further intervention studies. Reaching these targets in a broad population of adolescents will require new delivery systems and "option rich" (OR) intervention designs.

Cognitive inflexibility and suicidal ideation among adolescents following hospitalization: The moderating role of life stress.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive inflexibility has recently been investigated as potential vulnerability factor for suicidal ideation (SI), but the context in which it may convey risk is unclear. Life stress has also been reliably associated with SI among adolescents, and following a stress-diathesis model, may be a factor that moderates the relationship between cognitive inflexibility and SI. METHODS: Psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents (N = 259) at high risk for future SI were followed for 18 months after discharge. Interviews assessing life stress and SI and a neurocognitive task assessing cognitive inflexibility were conducted at six- and 12-months. SI was also assessed at 18-month post-discharge. Linear mixed models were used to determine the moderating effect of stress on the relationship between cognitive inflexibility and SI, accounting for relevant clinical and demographic covariates. RESULTS: Chronic stress moderated the association between cognitive inflexibility and SI, with a stronger association found among youth with greater levels compared to lower levels of chronic stress. This finding was maintained after statistically adjusting for depressive symptoms and relevant demographic covariates. No prospective associations between cognitive inflexibility, life stress, and SI were found. LIMITATIONS: SI was measured at 6-month intervals, precluding evaluation of the relationship on a more proximal timescale. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitively inflexible adolescents under conditions of high chronic stress are more likely to experience increased SI severity, supporting a cognitive inflexibility stress-diathesis model of SI in adolescents. The findings highlight the importance of assessing these modifiable factors among adolescents at a high risk for SI.

A scoping review of counseling interventions for suicide prevention in Africa: Few studies address this life-saving aspect of mental health treatment.

BACKGROUND: Nearly 800,000 people die by suicide each year, with 77 % occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Suicide is underestimated in many African settings due to challenges in data collection, stigma, and policies that promote silence; nonetheless, rates of suicide in Africa are consistently higher than global averages. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review of counseling interventions assessing suicide outcomes among adults in Africa using MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, African Index Medicus, CABI Global Health, and Proquest databases. Study screening and data extraction was informed by the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. RESULTS: Of 2438 abstracts reviewed, 33 studies met criteria for full-text review and 13 were included in the analysis. Interventions served several populations, including people living with HIV, out of school youth, university students, and women undergoing obstetric fistula repair. There was a near-equal split in individual versus group counseling modalities and the use of professional versus lay counselors. The majority of interventions had primary outcomes focused on other mental health or social variables with a secondary focus on suicide. Mechanisms of change for suicide prevention were poorly articulated. LIMITATIONS: The review was limited to English-language studies conducted after 2001 and excluded qualitative studies and those with fewer than 10 participants. CONCLUSIONS: There is a clear paucity of research in this area, particularly in the lack of randomized clinical trials and studies with suicide prevention as their primary outcome. Researchers should seek to develop or adapt evidence-based, culturally-resonant interventions to reduce the burden of suicide on the African continent.

Help-seeking among psychiatrically hospitalized military personnel at risk for suicide.

INTRODUCTION: Promoting help-seeking is a key suicide prevention strategy. Yet, research on help-seeking patterns by high-risk individuals is limited. This study examined help-seeking among United States military Service members admitted for psychiatric inpatient care. METHODS: Participants were active duty Service members (N = 111) psychiatrically hospitalized for a suicide-related event. Data were collected as part of a larger randomized controlled trial. Reported types and perceived helpfulness of resources sought 30 days before hospitalization were examined. Hierarchical binary logistic regressions were used to examine associations among types of helping resources, mental health treatment stigma, and perceived social support. RESULTS: Approximately 90% of participants sought help prior to hospitalization, most frequently from behavioral health providers and friends. Accessed resources were generally considered helpful. Adjusting for covariates, mental health treatment stigma was not associated with seeking help from any resource type. Higher perceived social support was associated with greater likelihood of help-seeking from a friend (OR = 1.08, p = 0.013 [95% CI = 1.02, 1.14]). Marital status, education level, and organizational barriers were associated with specific types of resources, and/or not seeking help. CONCLUSION: Help-seeking is a complex human behavior. Promoting help-seeking among vulnerable subgroups requires further understanding of multiple interconnected factors.

Brief Report: Task-Shifting "Gold Standard" Clinical Assessment and Safety Planning for Suicide Risk Among People Living With HIV: A Feasibility and Fidelity Evaluation in Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Suicide is a leading cause of death among people living with HIV (PLWH) worldwide, with suicide deaths occurring twice as frequently among PLWH than among the general public. In Tanzania, resources for mental health care are sorely lacking, with 55 psychiatrists and psychologists providing treatment for 60 million people. In light of this shortage, nonspecialists play a crucial role. The objective of this study was to assess feasibility of implementing task-shifted screening, assessment, and safety planning for suicide risk among PLWH. SETTING: Two adult HIV clinics in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. METHODS: Registered professional nurses in the HIV clinics were trained to administer brief screening of suicidal ideation in the past month. Patients experiencing suicidal ideation were referred to bachelor's-level counselors for further assessment and safety planning, supervised by specialist providers who reviewed audio recordings for quality assurance. RESULTS: During 180 days of implementation, nurses screened patients attending 2745 HIV appointments. Sixty-one (2.2%) endorsed suicidal ideation and were linked to further assessment and safety planning. We cross-checked screening with clinic attendance logs on 7 random days and found high fidelity to screening (206 of 228 screened, 90%). Quality assurance ratings demonstrated key assessment pieces were consistently completed (mean = 9.3/10 possible), with "Good" to "Excellent" counseling skills (mean = 23.7/28) and "Good" to "Excellent" quality (mean = 17.1/20), including appropriate referral for higher levels of care. CONCLUSIONS: Brief screening can be implemented and paired with task-shifted counseling to facilitate high-quality assessment of suicide risk. This model shows excellent potential to extend mental health services for PLWH in low-resource settings.

Protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial of a telehealth-delivered counseling intervention to reduce suicidality and improve HIV care engagement in Tanzania.

OBJECTIVE: Suicidal ideation is strikingly common among people living with HIV (PLWH) worldwide, leading to higher burden of disease, poor HIV care engagement, and loss of life. In low- and middle-income countries such as Tanzania, mental health resources are scarce, requiring innovative strategies for treatment. We describe the protocol for a clinical trial of a three-session telehealth counseling intervention to reduce suicidality and improve HIV care engagement in Tanzania. METHODS: In a pilot randomized controlled trial, we will assess the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a new telehealth intervention, termed "IDEAS for Hope". A total of 60 PLWH will be enrolled from two HIV clinics in the Kilimanjaro region and connected to telehealth counsellors based at a large regional hospital. Participants will be ≥18 years old and speak either Kiswahili or English. Patient screening will occur during routine HIV clinical care to identify PLWH experiencing suicidal ideation. Baseline surveys will be administered upon enrollment and participants will be randomized 1:1 to receive either IDEAS for Hope or the comparison condition, a brief safety planning session. All participants will receive an additional referral for psychiatric treatment. Follow-up assessment will occur at three months. IDEAS for Hope is informed by a Motivational Interviewing-enhanced safety planning intervention (MI-SafeCope) and our formative work in Tanzania. The model consists of Four Pillars: living healthy with HIV, managing HIV stigma, seeking social support, and meeting basic needs. Together, these mechanisms serve as a foundation for developing a sense of safety and hope for the future. Outcome measures will include intervention feasibility, acceptability, participant suicidality, and HIV care engagement. SIGNIFICANCE: Innovative, telehealth-based counseling represents a promising treatment for suicidality among PLWH in low-resource settings. Results from this pilot trial will inform intervention refinement and parameter estimates for a future clinical trial powered to evaluate effectiveness.

Associations between alcohol use and sex-specific maturation of subcortical gray matter morphometry from adolescence to adulthood: Replication across two longitudinal samples.

Subcortical brain morphometry matures across adolescence and young adulthood, a time when many youth engage in escalating levels of alcohol use. Initial cross-sectional studies have shown alcohol use is associated with altered subcortical morphometry. However, longitudinal evidence of sex-specific neuromaturation and associations with alcohol use remains limited. This project used generalized additive mixed models to examine sex-specific development of subcortical volumes and associations with recent alcohol use, using 7 longitudinal waves (n = 804, 51% female, ages 12-21 at baseline) from the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA). A second, independent, longitudinal dataset, with up to four waves of data (n = 467, 43% female, ages 10-18 at baseline), was used to assess replicability. Significant, replicable non-linear normative volumetric changes with age were evident in the caudate, putamen, thalamus, pallidum, amygdala and hippocampus. Significant, replicable negative associations between subcortical volume and alcohol use were found in the hippocampus in all youth, and the caudate and thalamus in female but not male youth, with significant interactions present in the caudate, thalamus and putamen. Findings suggest a structural vulnerability to alcohol use, or a predisposition to drink alcohol based on brain structure, with female youth potentially showing heightened risk, compared to male youth.

Validation of a culturally sensitive, Swahili-translated instrument to assess suicide risk among adults living with HIV in Tanzania.

In Tanzania, there are high rates of suicidal thoughts and behavior among people living with HIV (PLWH), yet few instruments exist for effective screening and referral. To address this gap, we developed and validated Swahili translations of the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) Screen Version and two accompanying scales assessing self-efficacy to avoid suicidal action and reasons for living. We administered a structured survey to 80 PLWH attending two HIV clinics in Moshi, Tanzania. Factor analysis of the items revealed four subscales: suicide intensity, self-efficacy to avoid suicide, fear and social concern about suicide, and family and spirituality deterrents to suicide. The area under the receiver operating curve showed only suicide intensity, and fear and social concern met the prespecified cutoff of ≥0.7 in accurately identifying patients with a plan and intent to act on suicidal thoughts. This study provides early evidence that brief screening of intensity of suicidality in the past month, assessed by the C-SSRS Screen Version, is a strong, resource-efficient strategy for identifying suicide risk in the Tanzanian setting. Patients who report little fear of dying and low concern about social perceptions of suicide may also be at increased risk.