Predicting Suicide in Incarcerated Juvenile Females Utilizing the MAYSI-2

• Main Author: Phillips, Annie Lane
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2013
• Subjects: Clinical psychology; Psychology
• ISBN: 9781267952738; 1267952733

Youth suicide continues to be a major public health problem in the United States. Risk factors for youth suicide are higher in the juvenile justice system (JJS) than in the larger community, yet they have received little attention. The Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI) was developed to identify suicidal risk factors as well as mental, emotional, and behavioral issues for juveniles in the JJS. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between scores on the Alcohol/Drug Use, Angry-Irritable, Depressed-Anxious, Somatic Complaints, Suicide Ideation, and Traumatic Experiences subscales on the MAYSI-2 and reported suicidal behaviors among juvenile females in the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC). The research questions in this study looked to see if the MAYSI-2 could predict suicidal behaviors and if the Suicidal Ideation subscale was sufficient by itself in predicting suicidal behaviors. Using archival data from 556 juvenile females, the original 2 × 3 crosstabs table analysis was modified to a 2 × 2 chi square test of independence due to multivariate outliers. Results indicated that there was no relationship between the suicide ideation category and suicidal behavior; therefore, the originally proposed sequential logistic regression for the second research question was not used. Instead, a standard logistic regression was conducted to examine the effects of the subscales in predicting suicidal behaviors. Only the Angry-Irritable subscale was significant in predicting suicidal incidents. The implications for positive social change include knowledge useful for policy makers, JJS staff, and mental health clinicians to develop better screening methods to identify suicidal risk factors that would ultimately reduce the occurrences of suicidal behaviors.