The Suicide Assessment Scale:: an instrument assessing suicide risk of suicide attempters

The Suicide Assessment Scale (SUAS), a scale constructed to measure suicidality over time, was administered to 191 suicide attempters, its predictive validity was tested. SUAS ratings were compared to ratings from other scales, and related to age and psychiatric diagnoses including co-morbidity. Eight patients committed suicide within 12 months after the SUAS assessment. Apart from advanced age, high scores in the SUAS were significant predictors of suicide. From a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, we identified cutoff SUAS scores which alone and in combination with certain diagnostic and demographic factors are of apparent value in the clinical evaluation of suicide risk after a suicide attempt. (C) 2000 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.