An integrated alcohol and suicide intervention for adolescents in inpatient psychiatric treatment

Background: Despite the bidirectional relationship between alcohol use and STB, the two issues are often treated separately in adolescent inpatient psychiatric hospitals, highlighting the need for brief interventions that address both alcohol use and STB in an integrated fashion.

Aims: This study tested the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a brief integrated Alcohol and Suicide Intervention for Suicidal Teens (iASIST) with a post-discharge mHealth booster for adolescents in inpatient psychiatric treatment.

Methods: We conducted an RCT of iASIST relative to an attention-matched comparison condition with adolescents hospitalized following STB (N = 40).

Results: iASIST demonstrated feasibility and acceptability and mixed models indicated that both groups had significant decreases in substance use over the 3-month follow-up, but post-intervention group differences were not significant. In terms of cannabis use, however, iASIST participants significantly improved over time. Intervention group participants showed a significant decrease in suicide plans from baseline to follow-up, which was not the case for control group participants.

Discussion: Study findings suggest a larger RCT is warranted to test the effectiveness of the iASIST intervention.

Conclusion: iASIST shows promise in its ability to target the public health problems of alcohol use and STB in an integrated fashion with a high-risk adolescent population receiving acute psychiatric care.