An investigation of emotional upset in suicide ideation.

The Suicide Upsetness Assessment (SUA) was used to measure the phenomenological experience of emotional upset during active states of suicidal ideation. Forty-nine inpatients with a history of suicide-related behaviors at a Midwestern inpatient psychiatric hospital completed a battery of assessments during their inpatient hospital stay. After reviewing theories regarding suicidality by the research team, 6 separate categories related to suicidal ideation were created, which were then subdivided into groups. Chi-Square and Fisher Exact Tests provided information regarding characteristics of emotional upset most often associated with such suicide-related behaviors as frequency and lethality of past attempts. Emotional upset is a heterogeneous construct in suicidal individuals, the properties of which may provide for a more thorough risk assessment.