What does this research mean for the field?

Adolescents in more recent cohorts show higher probabilities of endorsing suicide- and self-harm-related items on the Youth Self-Report despite overall latent psychological distress remaining relatively stable, indicating temporal item drift. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To assess whether endorsement of specific Youth Self-Report items, particularly regarding suicidal ideation and self-harm, shifts across time independently of changes in underlying latent psychological distress.

August 29, 2026European Child & Adolescent PsychiatryOpen Access

Item drift in the Youth Self-Report: IRT gradient analysis with suicidal ideation and self-harm items as illustrative examples

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Authors

ŁKŁukasz KonowałekMedical University of Warsaw

Discussion

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Implication

Repeated cross-sectional study uncovers selective item drift in self-reported suicidal behaviors among adolescents, suggesting rising endorsement can occur without proportional shifts in distress.

Key Points

To assess whether endorsement of specific Youth Self-Report items, particularly regarding suicidal ideation and self-harm, shifts across time independently of changes in underlying latent psychological distress.
Analyzed Youth Self-Report (YSR) data from four repeated cross-sectional cohorts of Polish adolescents assessed in 2000, 2011, 2013, and 2018 (N = 3,920).
Applied a time-anchored item response theory framework with multiple-group graded response models to estimate cohort differences in latent distress.
Conducted probability-gradient analyses across the latent trait continuum to detect severity-dependent changes in item functioning over time.
Latent levels of psychological distress increased modestly between 2000 and 2011 and remained relatively stable through 2018.
Item-level analyses revealed selective temporal drift across cohorts, marked by severity-dependent drift, gradient reversal, and stable item functioning.
Adolescents in later cohorts displayed higher endorsement probabilities for suicide- and self-harm-related items at equivalent levels of underlying latent distress, particularly at moderate-to-high internalizing severity.

Cite This Study

Łukasz Konowałek (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a92997e8e5d7d1fc0c118dd https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-026-03168-3

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Implication

Repeated cross-sectional study uncovers selective item drift in self-reported suicidal behaviors among adolescents, suggesting rising endorsement can occur without proportional shifts in distress.

Item drift in the Youth Self-Report: IRT gradient analysis with suicidal ideation and self-harm items as illustrative examples

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Item drift in the Youth Self-Report: IRT gradient analysis with suicidal ideation and self-harm items as illustrative examples

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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