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ViewAttendees 7

Symposia

Suicide and Self-Injury

Identify, and Addressing, Suicide Risk Across Adolescence and Adulthood

5 - (SYM 50) Examining the Effectiveness of a Suicide Prevention Program Across Adulthood for Patients Following an Emergency Department Visit

Friday, November 15, 2024
2:30 PM – 4:00 PM EST
Location: Grand Ballroom F, Level 5, Downtown Marriott
Abstract Body

In 2021, suicide was the 9th leading cause of death for people ages 10-64 years (CDC, 2023). Suicide rates differ based on age, with young adults and older adults demonstrating disproportionately high rates of suicidality (NIMH, 2023). Recent research has noted the importance of adapting suicide interventions by age of participant (Ammerman et al., 2019). The Coping Long Term with Active Suicide Program (CLASP), a multifaceted, adjunctive intervention designed to target suicidality through case management, individual therapy, and family/significant other involvement, has been shown to be efficacious in reducing suicidal behaviors (SBs). The aim of the current study was to describe CLASP’s effectiveness in reducing SBs following an emergency department (ED) visit across age groups; we sought to identify possible age groups that might benefit more or less from the treatment. The overarching study recruited participants from 8 EDs in the US who presented with recent suicidal thoughts or behaviors and used a quasi-experimental, stepped wedge series design, following participants for 52 weeks. For the current analyses, only those participants in the intervention phase (CLASP) were included (n = 501; Mage = 37 years; 69% non-Hispanic white; 56% female). Participants were grouped into the following categories: young adults (18-24; n = 136), adults (25-54; n = 313), and older adults (55+; n = 53). A survival analysis showed that young adults had significantly longer mean time to SBs (42 weeks) compared with adults (34 weeks) and older adults (34 weeks), Χ2 = 15.82; p < .001. Because sex and lifetime suicide attempts differed between age groups, multivariable Cox regressions were conducted to control for those factors. The pattern of results did not materially change: young adults had significantly lower risk of SBs over the study period than adults (adjusted hazard ratio = .49, 95% CI = 0.34 - 0.72, p = < .001) and older adults (adjusted hazard ratio = .44, 95% CI = 0.26 - 0.73, p = .002). This was despite older adults completing significantly more CLASP phone sessions (M = 4.42; SD = 3.35) than the young adults (M = 2.65; SD = 2.98) and adults (M = 2.96; SD = 3.27), F = 6.01, p = < .01. These findings suggest that young adults respond better to CLASP when compared to other age groups, even though older adults utilized the intervention more. This highlights the importance and utility of connecting young adults with CLASP or similar suicide-specific interventions in ED settings.