SIBAT-A Computerized Assessment Tool for Suicide Ideation and Behavior: Development and Psychometric Properties

Larry Alphs; Dong-Jing Fu; David Williamson; Carol Jamieson; John Greist; Magdalena Harrington; Jean-Pierre Lindenmayer; Cheryl McCullumsmith; David V Sheehan; Richard C Shelton; Paul Wicks; Carla M Canuso

SIBAT-A Computerized Assessment Tool for Suicide Ideation and Behavior: Development and Psychometric Properties

Innov Clin Neurosci. 2022 Apr-Jun;19(4-6):36-47.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Dr. Alphs is with Denovo Biopharma in San Diego, California (he was with Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC in Titusville, New Jersey at the time the work reported herein was performed).
² Drs. Fu and Canuso are with Janssen Research and Development, LLC in Titusville, New Jersey.
³ Dr. Williamson is with the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology at University of South Alabama College of Medicine in Mobile, Alabama and Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at Augusta University in Augusta, Georgia (he was with Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC in Titusville, New Jersey at the time the work reported herein was performed).
⁴ Ms. Jamieson is with Janssen Research and Development, LLC in Milpitas, California.
⁵ Dr. Greist is a Professor Emeritus-Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and is with Healthcare Technology Systems, Inc. in Madison, Wisconsin.
⁶ Dr. Harrington is with Pfizer, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachussetts (she was a Psychometrician/Patient-Reported Outcomes at PatientsLikeMe in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the time the work reported herein was performed).
⁷ Dr. Lindenmayer is with New York University Grossman School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry in New York City, New York.
⁸ Dr. McCullumsmith is with the University of Toledo, Department of Psychiatry in Toledo, Ohio.
⁹ Dr. Sheehan is a Distinguished University Health Professor Emeritus, University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, Florida.
¹⁰ Dr. Shelton is with the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry in Birmingham, Alabama.
¹¹ Dr. Wicks is with Wicks Digital Health Ltd. in Lichfield, United Kingdom (he was with PatientsLikeMe in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the time the work reported herein was performed).

PMID: 35958973
PMCID: PMC9341319

Abstract

Objective: Most assessments of suicidal ideation and behavior (SIB) are limited by reliance on a single assessor, typically a clinician or patient, with scant detail on patient-related drivers of SIB and inability to detect rapid change in SIB. Furthermore, many techniques do not include a semistructured interview, increasing rater variability. The Suicide Ideation and Behavior Assessment Tool (SIBAT) addresses these limitations.

Design: More than 30 experts in scale development, statistics, and clinical management of suicidal patients collaborated over a greater than four-year period to develop the SIBAT. Input for content and validity was received from patients, clinicians, and regulatory authorities in the United States (US) and Europe. Psychometric properties of the SIBAT were evaluated in validation studies.

Results: The SIBAT is organized into eight independent patient- or clinician-rated modules with branching logic and scoring algorithms, which necessitates computerization. Patient-reported information is first captured in Modules 1 to 5. Thereafter, an experienced clinician reviews the patient's report, conducts a semistructured interview (Module 6), and assesses the patient's suicide risk (Module 7) and optimal antisuicide management (Module 8). Input from cognitive interviews of diverse adult, adolescent, and clinician participants was incorporated into the final version of the SIBAT. Psychometric testing demonstrated good inter-rater reliability (intraclass coefficient range: 0.68-0.82), intra-rater reliability (weighted-kappa range: 0.64-0.76), and concurrent validity with other instruments for assessing SIB.

Conclusion: Patient- and clinician-based assessments and the psychometric studies summarized in this report support the validity and reliability of the SIBAT for capturing critical information related to assessment of SIB in adolescents and adults at risk for suicide.

Keywords: SIBAT; death by suicide; psychometric validation; suicidality; suicide assessment; suicide attempt; suicide behavior; suicide ideation.