20 SUICIDE ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS - EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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.