28th January 2024

Symptoms and diagnosis

The assessment and management of persons presenting with DSH should utilise a bio-psycho-social approach to consider the person’s problems, needs and future risk.

It is impossible to precisely predict suicidal risk, and various assessment tools can be used, such as the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS Screener) and the Patient Safety Screener 3 (PSS-3).

These scales are designed to measure the severity and intensity of suicidal ideation, the suicidal behaviour and the lethality of any attempts.

All psychiatric assessments should include screening for suicidal ideation and self-harm. 

The SAD PERSONS scale was developed to help screen suicide risk in adults. Although the scale has been found to have poor predictive validity in real-world studies, it can provide a useful memory aid for some of the risk factors for suicide rather than being an official risk-calculation tool.

Source: MD App. (n.d.). SAD PERSONS Scale Calculator. Retrieved July 12, 2022, from https://www.mdapp.co/sad-persons-scale-calculator-411/

It is scored with 1 point for each factor, with the final score reflecting risk:

0 – 4: low risk

5 – 6: medium risk

7 – 10: high risk