Implicit Identification with Death, Clinician Evaluation and Suicide Ideation among Adolescent Psychiatric Outpatients-The Mediating Role of Depression

Nermin Toukhy*, Yari Gvion, Shira Barzilay, Alan Apter, Liat Haruvi-Catalan, Cendrine Bursztein-Lipsicas, Maya Shilian, Ori Mijiritsky, Noa Benaroya-Milshtein, Silvana Fennig, Sami Hamdan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Implicit identification with death (i.e., subconsciously self-associating oneself with death), measured by the Death-Suicide Implicit Association Test (D/S-IAT), is associated with Suicide Ideation (SI). Our understanding of the mechanisms underlying this association is limited. The current study examined (1) the mediating role of depression between D/S-IAT and recent SI and (2) the association between SI, D/S-IAT, and clinician evaluation of SI among a clinical sample of adolescents. 148 adolescents aged 10–18 years (69.4% female) from two outpatient clinics were assessed at intake. Participants completed D/S-IAT and self-report measures for recent SI and depression during intake. Findings indicate that depression is a mediator between D/S-IAT and recent SI, controlling for gender, site differences, and past suicidal thoughts and behaviors. D/S-IAT and clinician evaluation were correlated with recent SI but not beyond depression. Our findings highlight the importance of examining the underlying psychological mechanisms regarding the association between D/S-IAT and suicide.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1215-1227
Number of pages13
JournalArchives of Suicide Research
Volume28
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024

Funding

FundersFunder number
Ministry of Science and Technology, Israel
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

    Keywords

    • Adolescents
    • clinician evaluation
    • death/suicide implicit association test
    • depression
    • suicide ideation

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