The association between thought disturbance and suicidal ideation within and across ethnoracial groups of juvenile legal system-involved youth

Introduction: Psychosis-spectrum symptoms are linked to markedly high risk for suicide among youth; however, the associations between these symptoms have not been well-explored in juvenile legal system (JLS)-involved youth or across Black and Hispanic/Latinx minoritized youth, who are overrepresented within the JLS. Methods: Participants (n = 901, aged 10-18) were diverted youth who, upon JLS intake, completed the Massachusetts Youth Screening Inventory- 2 (MAYSI-2), which probes Thought Disturbance (TD), i.e. potential psychosis-spectrum symptoms, and Suicidal Ideation (SI). Linear regression examined the association between TD and SI. A series of two-way interactions tested whether the effect of TD on SI was moderated by sex within three ethnoracial groups: Black/non-Hispanic, Hispanic/Latinx, and White/non-Hispanic youth. Results: TD was significantly associated with SI when controlling for demographics and other MAYSI-2 scales in a test of robustness. Significant TD x sex interactions were found in the Black/non-Hispanic and Hispanic/Latinx groups. TD was significantly associated with SI for White/non-Hispanic youth, Black/non-Hispanic females, and Hispanic/Latinx females. There was no significant association between TD and SI among Black/non-Hispanic and Hispanic/Latinx males. Conclusions: Findings indicate that TD is a significant predictor of SI for some youth, and this scale may inform suicide risk assessment within a JLS setting.