Twenty relatively new suicide assessment instruments can be grouped in
to the following categories: (a) clinician-rated suicide instruments,
(b) self-rated suicide instruments, (c) self-rated buffers against sui
cide, (d) instruments focused on children and adolescents, and (e) spe
cial purpose scab. The present review describes these instruments, giv
ing the potential clinician or researcher information about their psyc
hometric properties, strengths, and weaknesses. They vary in length an
d the age group for which they are designed, but most are reliable and
have same psychometric evidence of validity. Of the 20, most highly r
ecommended are Beck's Scale for Suicide Ideation series, Linehan's Rea
sons for Living Inventory, and Cole's self-administered adaptation of
Linehan's structured interview called the Suicidal Behaviors Questionn
aire.