Brief online suicide risk assessment of adults does not affect state mood, even in the context of elevated suicidality self-stigma, suicidal ideation and psychological distress

Abstract

The current study aimed to assess whether online suicide risk assessment affects state mood and is the first to examine if suicide-related self-stigma or coping related to suicidal ideation are predictors of mood change. The Australian participants (N = 661, M_age = 34.9, SD = 12.3, 57.1% female), recruited through a crowd-sourcing platform, completed a visual analogue mood measure before and after the Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIDAS), an assessment tool. Followed by a modified version of the Internalised Stigma Scale, the Brief COPE and DASS-21. State mood did not change from pre- to post-suicide risk assessment in the overall sample, t(662) = −.16, p = .868, d = −.01. Contrary to hypotheses, neither self-stigma nor coping were related to mood change following exposure to the SIDAS. The multiple regression model was not significant, F(9,643) = 1.16, p = .31., nor was any single predictor including gender, current Suicide risk β = −.04, t = −.80 or psychological distress β = −.09, t = −1.76, p = .08. These findings suggest that online exposure to a suicide risk tool is unlikely to be iatrogenic in relation to state mood, even in the context of elevated self-stigma, suicidal ideation and psychological distress.