Mentalization and Social Cognition in Adolescents After Suicide Attempt

Summary

This study investigates the risk of violent suicide attempts in adolescents, with a particular focus on social cognition and sleep disturbances, to better understand the cognitive and behavioral mechanisms involved and to inform more targeted prevention strategies.

Violent suicide attempts are defined as the use of methods with a high immediate lethal potential. They are associated with distinct clinical profiles and specific risk factors, including an increased risk of recurrence and completed suicide.

Although the association between suicidal behavior and psychiatric disorders is well established, evidence regarding the underlying neurocognitive factors remains inconsistent. In particular, little is known about the role of social cognition in suicidal risk among adolescents. Research in this area is limited, leaving an important gap in our understanding of the cognitive processes that may contribute to the emergence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors during adolescence.

In addition, studies conducted in community-based adolescent cohorts have shown that insufficient sleep duration is independently associated with increased suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior, even after accounting for depressive symptoms.

Conditions

• Violent Suicide Attempts in Adolescents

Interventions

OTHER

Test

Clinical Assessment of Social Cognition, including : * PERSO: measurement of social reasoning, through the analysis and interpretation of social situations, the understanding of the emotions and intentions of others, as well as the adaptation of responses to the relational context; * Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC): video task measuring understanding of the mental states, intentions and emotions of others (theory of mind), * Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ): measurement of attribution biases and hostile interpretations in social interactions.

OTHER

Questionnaires

To explore the associations between performance on the most discriminative social cognition measures (derived from the Clinical Assessment of Social Cognition \[ClaCoS\] battery) and several secondary variables that may influence socio-cognitive functioning or the characteristics of the suicide attempt, including: * Suicidal intent, assessed using the Suicide Intent Scale (SIS) * Anxiety symptoms, assessed using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) * Depressive symptoms, assessed using the Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) module of the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS) * Socioeconomic vulnerability, assessed using the EPICES deprivation score * Attachment styles, assessed using the Adolescent Relationship Scale Questionnaire (ARSQ) * Sleep characteristics, assessed using the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC) and the Disturbing Dreams and Nightmare Severity Index (DDNSI) * Everyday social cognition skills, assessed us

Sponsors & Collaborators

• URC-CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin

  collaborator OTHER

• Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Catherine Grosmaitre, PhD · Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

• Pauline MD, PhD Chaste · Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

12 Years

Max Age

16 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-07-31

Primary Completion

2028-01-31

Completion

2028-01-31

Countries

• France

Study Locations