Are Genetic Counselors Screening Adolescents for Suicide Risk? A Mixed Methods Study

This study proposes to describe the practices, attitudes, and beliefs of genetic counselors in relation to suicide risk assessment (SRA) of their adolescent clients. Suicide is a major public health issue and one of the leading causes of death for adolescents in the U.S. Analysis of suicide prevention campaigns has shown that the most effective way to decrease suicide is by training physicians to recognize suicide risk factors in their patients . However, pediatricians do not consistently screen youth for suicide risk during routine check-ups. As chronic illness is an additional risk factor for suicide, pediatric genetic counselors encounter particularly high-risk clients and are well-positioned to assess for suicide risk due to the psychosocial nature of their work. However, the SRA practices of genetic counselors are largely unknown. In this study, the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change is used as a framework to describe how genetic counselors SRA self-efficacy and perceptions of the pros and cons of SRA relate to stages of readiness and practices of assessing clients for suicide risk. Specifically, we will be surveying genetic counselors about their practices, attitudes and beliefs concerning SRA of adolescent clients. First, we will determine genetic counselors frequency of SRA and their stage of readiness for routine screening. Second, we will measure genetic counselors SRA self-efficacy and their perceptions of the pros and cons of screening their clients. We will examine whether self-efficacy and perceptions of pros and cons are predictors of genetic counselors stage of readiness for routine suicide screening. Finally, we will qualitatively assess genetic counselors perceptions of the usability of a validated suicide screening tool (the ASQ) in genetic counseling sessions and their interest in receiving suicide screening training. We will use a cross-sectional, mixed-methods design in which counselors will complete an online questionnaire with quantitative components and open-ended responses. Participants will be recruited through the National Society of Genetic Counselors Student Research Survey listserv.