Assessing Suicidal and NonSuicidal Self‐Injury via In‐Depth Interview or Self‐Report: Balancing Assessment Effort and Results

OBJECTIVE: Both suicide and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) represent major public health concerns, and effective assessment, management, and treatment requires assessment tools that can simultaneously be quick and accurate. This study compared the validity of a self-report measure of suicide attempts and NSSI acts with a gold standard in depth interview. METHOD: Ninety women answered questions about their suicidal behavior history using both a self-report assessment and in-depth interview. RESULTS: The plurality of patients over estimated their suicidal acts using the self-report measure when compared to the gold standard interview. CONCLUSION: Self-report assessments may not be an accurate method of retrieving information about suicide.