How Unreliable are adult-reported suicide attempts? An examination of correlates and underlying causal mechanisms of discordant reporting over time
type: CreativeWork
description: The challenge of capturing suicide attempts in the population, plague its examination. The reliability of adult-reported lifetime suicide attempts had not been rigorously explored prior to this work, and therefore estimates have remained largely unchallenged. This dissertation explicitly sought to fill this research gap by utilizing a longitudinal study, comprising two waves of data collection, in which information on suicide attempts was obtained at both time points. Chapter 1 presents a systematic review of the literature depicting the state of the literature with regards to the reliability of suicidality measures (e.g. ideation, plans, and attempts). Few studies assessed correlates of discordant reporting, and no studies examined the reliability of adult-reported suicide attempts. Drawing upon the correlates reported within studies, as well sources of heterogeneity across studies, I posited four plausible causal mechanisms underlying discordant suicidality reporting; recall failure, reinterpretation, conscious denial, and lack of construct comprehension. Extending these findings, I proposed that the likelihood of each mechanism is influenced by factors such as the severity of the suicidality, amount of time passed since the suicidal event, social desirability effects, mood context, and suicide construct validity. In Chapter 2, I assessed the reliability of adult-reported lifetime attempts as reported in a large, population-based longitudinal study, and found reports to be moderately reliable, with a Kappa coefficient of 0.51. I hypothesized that discordant reporters would be more similar to individuals who reported a past attempt at both waves (Concordant yes responders), compared with individuals who reported no attempt at both waves (Concordant no responders). I found that indeed, discordant reporters were more similar to the former, potentially signifying that discordant reporters are true attempters who underreported their attempt at one time point. Further, …
abstract: The challenge of capturing suicide attempts in the population, plague its examination. The reliability of adult-reported lifetime suicide attempts had not been rigorously explored prior to this work, and therefore estimates have remained largely unchallenged. This dissertation explicitly sought to fill this research gap by utilizing a longitudinal study, comprising two waves of data collection, in which information on suicide attempts was obtained at both time points. Chapter 1 presents a systematic review of the literature depicting the state of the literature with regards to the reliability of suicidality measures (e.g. ideation, plans, and attempts). Few studies assessed correlates of discordant reporting, and no studies examined the reliability of adult-reported suicide attempts. Drawing upon the correlates reported within studies, as well sources of heterogeneity across studies, I posited four plausible causal mechanisms underlying discordant suicidality reporting; recall failure, reinterpretation, conscious denial, and lack of construct comprehension. Extending these findings, I proposed that the likelihood of each mechanism is influenced by factors such as the severity of the suicidality, amount of time passed since the suicidal event, social desirability effects, mood context, and suicide construct validity. In Chapter 2, I assessed the reliability of adult-reported lifetime attempts as reported in a large, population-based longitudinal study, and found reports to be moderately reliable, with a Kappa coefficient of 0.51. I hypothesized that discordant reporters would be more similar to individuals who reported a past attempt at both waves (Concordant yes responders), compared with individuals who reported no attempt at both waves (Concordant no responders). I found that indeed, discordant reporters were more similar to the former, potentially signifying that discordant reporters are true attempters who underreported their attempt at one time point. Further, …
author: Palmetto, Niki P.
language: English
keywords: Epidemiology, Suicidal behavior, Mental health, Public health
date published: 2011
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:44:14Z
provider: Columbia University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Columbia University

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.7916/D8DJ5NKN