Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicología del Principado de Asturias).
We currently publish four issues per year, which accounts for some 100 articles annually. We admit work from both the basic and applied research fields, and from all areas of Psychology, all manuscripts being anonymously reviewed prior to publication.
Raquel Falcó1, José A. Piqueras1, Beatriz Moreno-Amador1, Victoria Soto-Sanz1 and Juan C. Marzo1
1 Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche
Background: Suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people aged 15-29 in Spain. It is imperative to detect cases with suicidal risk for early intervention. The purpose of the study was to examine the self-reported presence of suicide spectrum indicators using a trichotomous rating scale: no, yes, prefer not to say. This last alternative was intended to safeguard the sensitive nature of the phenomenon and explore its clinical character. Method: 5,528 adolescents made up the definitive sample (12-18 years; M ± SD = 14.20 ± 1.53; 50.74% female). Results: Prevalence reached 15.38% for ideation, 9.32% for planning, and 3.65% for previous suicide attempts. Girls’ rates were twice those of men. Suicidality showed a tendency to increase with age. Adolescents with the presence of suicidal indicators (yes) and omission of response (prefer not to say) both had lower levels of socioemotional strength and subjective well-being, and higher levels of psychopathology than the group with the absence of markers (no). Conclusions: Prefer not to say is a response category that increases the sensitivity of the self-report, allowing more accurate identification of cases with a high suicidal risk that would go unnoticed by the traditional dichotomous system (no-yes).
Antecedentes: En España, el suicidio constituye la segunda causa de muerte en jóvenes de 15 a 29 años. Es imperativa la detección de casos con riesgo suicida para una intervención temprana. El objetivo del estudio fue examinar la presencia autoinformada de indicadores del espectro suicida en adolescentes mediante una escala de respuesta tricotómica: no, sí, no deseo contestar. Incluir esta última alternativa pretendía salvaguardar la naturaleza sensible del fenómeno y explorar su carácter clínico. Método: 5,528 adolescentes conformaron la muestra definitiva (12-18 años; M ± DT = 14,20 ± 1,53; 50,74% mujeres). Resultados: Las prevalencias alcanzaron el 15.38% en ideación, 9,32% en planificación y 3,65% en tentativas suicidas previas. Las mujeres duplicaron las cifras de los hombres. La suicidalidad mostró una tendencia a incrementar con la edad. Adolescentes con presencia de indicadores suicidas (sí) y omisión de respuesta (no deseo contestar) obtuvieron, de forma equivalente, niveles inferiores en fortaleza socioemocional y bienestar subjetivo, y superiores en psicopatología, frente al grupo con ausencia de marcadores (no). Conclusiones: No deseo contestar constituye una categoría de respuesta que incrementa la sensibilidad del autoinforme, permitiendo una identificación más precisa de casos con alto riesgo suicida que pasarían desapercibidos mediante el sistema dicotómico tradicional (no-sí).
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https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2022.287