Efficacy of the sam program in reducing suicidal ideation in high-risk adolescents: initial results from a randomized controlled trial
W. A. Ahmed, B. G. Fernández, V. F. Rodrigues, A. D. L. T. Luque, M. D. MarsaIntroduction
Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among adolescents. The high prevalence of suicidal ideation in this population highlights the need for brief and effective interventions. The Self-Awareness of Mental Health (SAM) program is a short therapeutic intervention focused on risk/protective factors and emotional coping skills.
Objectives
This study aims to assess the efficacy of the SAM program in reducing suicidal ideation and to examine its effect in preventing suicidal behaviours among high-risk adolescents.
Methods
A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 85 adolescents (aged 12–18) with high suicidal ideation, the sample was divided into two groups: 42 participants (clinical group) and 43 participants (control group). Participants were allocated to either an experimental group (SAM + standard care) or a control group (standard care only). Validated clinical tools were used: C-SSRS, SSI, among others. Pre- and post-intervention data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA.
Results
The SAM group showed a significant reduction in suicidal ideation intensity (C-SSRS) with a significant group–time interaction (F(1,29) = 10.116, p = 0.003), while the control group showed increased intensity (See Figure 1). The total scores on the SSI scale also decreased significantly in the SAM group (F(1,35) = 8.41, p = 0.006), with overall lower post-treatment scores (F(1,35) = 5.514, p = 0.025).
Both groups showed a decrease in the number of suicide behaviours (
p < 0.001
) and frequency (
p < 0.001
), but no significant between-group differences were found (
p > 0.5
).
Image 1: Long description.