Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42076808›Full record

ArticleJournal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines2026

Development and validation of a machine learning-based screening tool for early detection of adolescent suicide risk.

Weijia Li, Yongtian Cheng, Zeming Zhang, Yingying Yang, Yanpeng Jin, Zhenhua Cui, Juan Wang, Yinan Duan, Runsen Chen

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Weijia Li *Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Yongtian Cheng *Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London (UCL), London, UK.
Zeming ZhangVanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Yingying YangDepartment of Psychology, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, USA.
Yanpeng JinVanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Zhenhua CuiVanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Juan WangDepartment of Psychology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
Yinan DuanVanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Runsen ChenVanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.ORCID 0000-0003-3398-5750

Funding

Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University IRB#20220102
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAdolescent suicide remains a significant public health concern, yet existing suicide screening instruments primarily focus on already manifested suicidal phenomena, underscoring the need for reliable and practical tools to enable early identification and intervention.

methodsBased on a large-scale school-based cohort study conducted in Southern China in 2022, this study aimed to develop and preliminarily validate two machine learning-based tools (a 51-item full version and an 11-item abbreviated version) designed to help identify adolescents at risk of developing suicide risk. The dataset was divided into two samples for tool development and longitudinal interview validation. During the tool development phase, LASSO regression was employed to select items with optimal contributions for recent suicide attempts from a multidimensional set of risk factors, followed by model training with multiple machine learning algorithms. The developed models were subsequently evaluated for their ability to predict suicide risk as assessed by the follow-up interview in the longitudinal validation phase.

resultsBoth versions of the screening tool demonstrated adequate discriminative ability, with the CatBoost algorithm outperforming others (AUROC ≥ 0.87). The abbreviated tool showed a slight trade-off between model precision and practicality, with a 0.02 reduction in AUROC, while still maintaining appropriate discrimination. Longitudinal validation using follow-up interview outcomes supported the predictive validity of both tools. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the utility of machine learning-based suicide risk screening tools among adolescents.

conclusionsThis study provides evidence supporting the machine learning-based screening tools for early suicide risk detection in adolescents that integrates multidimensional vulnerabilities. The tools show promise in facilitating early identification and targeted interventions in school settings, addressing a critical need in adolescent mental health care. Nonetheless, further research is warranted to confirm their efficacy and support broader implementation.

Indexed as

Adolescent BehaviorMachine LearningSuicideAdolescentChinaClassification AlgorithmsEarly DiagnosisFemaleHumansMalePrediction AlgorithmsPredictive Learning ModelsRisk AssessmentAdolescentlongitudinal validationmachine learningschoolsuicide risk screening

Identifiers

PMID42076808
PMCPMC13450071

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.