AAS Risk Assessment & Screening Tools 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) categorizes suicidal ideation into how many levels?
- 3
- 5 (Correct answer)
- 7
- 10
Correct answer: 5
The C-SSRS uses a 5-level ideation scale ranging from passive wish to die up to ideation with specific plan and intent.
Question 2: Which risk factor is considered a STATIC (historical) predictor of suicide rather than a dynamic one?
- Current hopelessness level
- Recent substance use episode
- Prior suicide attempt (Correct answer)
- Access to lethal means today
Correct answer: Prior suicide attempt
Prior suicide attempt is a static historical variable, whereas hopelessness, substance use, and means access are dynamic and can change.
Question 3: On the SAD PERSONS scale, what does the letter 'E' stand for?
- Emotional distress
- Excessive alcohol use (Correct answer)
- Ethnicity
- Escape motive
Correct answer: Excessive alcohol use
In the SAD PERSONS mnemonic, 'E' stands for Excessive alcohol or drug use.
Question 4: A patient scores 2 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) item asking about thoughts of self-harm. This score indicates the thoughts occur:
- Not at all
- Several days (Correct answer)
- More than half the days
- Nearly every day
Correct answer: Several days
PHQ-9 item 9 uses a 0–3 scale: 0=not at all, 1=several days, 2=more than half the days, 3=nearly every day; a score of 2 means more than half the days.
Question 5: The Suicide Assessment Five-step Evaluation and Triage (SAFE-T) tool is primarily designed to:
- Provide a diagnostic code for suicidality
- Structure the clinical interview and document risk level (Correct answer)
- Replace the need for hospitalization decisions
- Screen large populations in primary care
Correct answer: Structure the clinical interview and document risk level
SAFE-T is a structured clinical tool that guides clinicians through risk and protective factors and documents a risk level and treatment plan.
Question 6: Which screening tool was specifically developed and validated for use in emergency department settings with suicidal patients?
- Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS)
- Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) (Correct answer)
- Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIDAS)
- Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)
Correct answer: Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ)
The ASQ is a brief 4-item screen validated specifically for use in emergency departments and acute medical settings.
Question 7: In risk stratification, a patient with chronic suicidal ideation and no new precipitants is typically categorized as:
- High acute risk
- Moderate acute risk
- Low acute but elevated chronic risk (Correct answer)
- No measurable risk
Correct answer: Low acute but elevated chronic risk
Chronic ideation without new acute stressors places a patient in the low-acute/elevated-chronic risk category, guiding outpatient safety planning rather than hospitalization.
AAS Risk Assessment & Screening Tools 2
The Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) categorizes suicidal ideation into how many levels?