Assessing Suicidal and
Non-suicidal Self-Injury

Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors are unfortunately common, even among youth; yet, many researchers do not assess these outcomes for fear of liability to themselves and their participants. This course will help dispel myths and provide concrete tools and skills to safety and validly assess self-injurious thoughts and behaviors among teens and adults using online and in person methods.

Instructors:
Kathryn Fox, PhD (University of Denver)
Shirley Wang, PhD (Yale University)

Workshop Dates and Times:
Monday, July 15th 11:00am to 4:30pm ET

Workshop Format:
One-Day Synchronous Online Workshop

Suicide is a major public health problem, representing a leading cause of death worldwide. Suicidal thoughts, suicidal behaviors, and nonsuicidal self-injury are even more common, with millions of people thinking about and engaging in nonfatal self-harming behaviors each year. Although there is a clear and urgent need to include these outcomes in research studies, there are also many barriers that get in the way of studying these topics, especially when trying to study these topics in children and teenagers.

This 1-day workshop is designed to provide a foundation for researchers interested in studying suicidal and nonsuicidal thoughts and behaviors in youth and adults. Topics covered will include:

  • Ethics of asking direct questions about suicide and self-harm

  • Best methods for suicide/self-harm assessment for in person studies

  • Leveraging online methods to recruit youth and adult samples for research including questions about suicidal and nonsuicidal thoughts and behaviors. This will include discussion of when and how to waive the need for parent/guardian consent.

  • Risk assessment and safety planning for studies conducted in person and online.

  • Working with your institution’s IRB to include questions about suicidal and nonsuicidal thoughts and behaviors, rationale for why such studies should be deemed minimal risk, and how to obtain IRB waivers for parental consent when necessary.

What you’ll learn

  1. Ethics of assessing suicidal thoughts and behaviors

  2. How to select appropriate assessment tools

  3. How to waive parent/guardian consent when appropriate

  4. Risk assessment and safety planning across in person and online modalities

  5. Tips to effectively work with your IRB

Registration Options

Assessing Suicidal and Non-suicidal Self-Injury

  • Professional
  • $299
  • Baseline Price for Faculty,
    Staff, and Other Professionals
  • Click Register Below
  • Trainee
  • $299 $199
  • 33% Discount for
    Students and Postdocs
  • Use code "TRAINEE" at Checkout

 FAQs

  • Researchers and trainees interested in studying self-injurious thoughts and behaviors

  • This workshop was built for clinical psychology researchers and trainees who are interested in studying self-injurious thoughts and behaviors but who may not have received much (if any) training on how to ethically and validly assess these behaviors. It is designed to provide foundational tools and skills to design and conduct important research on this understudied topic. This workshop is introductory and appropriate for faculty, staff, and students at both the graduate and advanced undergraduate levels.

  • This workshop assumes that attendees have limited experience with assessing self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in research. It does, however, assume that learners have basic knowledge of clinical research (e.g., how to complete an IRB application) and measurement. This workshop could also be helpful for researchers who have assessed self-injurious thoughts and behaviors during in-person studies but who are interested in how to assess these topics and manage risk in an online format.

  • Registered learners will gain access to the Zoom link and passcode to attend the synchronous workshop, as well as video recordings of the lectures, downloadable slideshows, example IRB submissions, and a lay summary of relevant research on this topic.