Who are we missing? Nondisclosure in online suicide risk screening questionnaires

Abstract

The use of self-report surveys for suicide risk screening is a key first step in identifying currently suicidal individuals and connecting them with appropriate follow-up assessment and care. Online methods for suicide risk screening are becoming more common, yet they present a number of complexities compared with traditional methods. This study aimed to assess whether forcing item responses may unintentionally hide or misrepresent otherwise useful missing suicide risk data. We investigated in secondary analyses of 3 independent samples of undergraduates (ns = 1,306; 694; 172) whether participants who chose not to respond specifically to current suicide risk screening items (i.e., Nondisclosers) scored significantly different from other risk response groups (i.e., Deniers, Lower-Risk Endorsers, and Higher-Risk Endorsers) on auxiliary measures related to suicidality. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) tests for each sample revealed that Nondisclosers were rare (ns = 7, 6, 7) and scored significantly higher than Deniers and similarly to Endorsers on suicide risk related measures. In 1 sample, Nondisclosers tended to score higher than all groups on suicide risk related measures. These findings suggest that nondisclosure for suicide risk screening questions is a preferred option for a distinct group of respondents who are likely at elevated suicide risk. Allowing for and flagging Nondisclosers for follow-up suicide risk assessment may be an ethical and feasible way to enhance the sensitivity of online suicide risk screenings for weary respondents, who if forced, may choose to underreport their suicide risk and misrepresent data. (PsycINFO Database Record