Brief online suicide risk assessment of adults does not affect state mood, even in the context of elevated suicidality self‐stigma, suicidal ideation and psychological distress

The current study aimed to assess whether online suicide risk assessment affects state mood and is the first to examine if suicide-related self-stigma or coping related to suicidal ideation are predictors of mood change. The Australian participants (N = 661, M_age = 34.9, SD = 12.3, 57.1% female), recruited through a crowd-sourcing platform, completed a visual analogue mood measure before and after the Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIDAS), an assessment tool. Followed by a modified version of the Internalised Stigma Scale, the Brief COPE and DASS-21. State mood did not change from pre- to post-suicide risk assessment in the overall sample, t(662) = -.16, p = .868, d = -.01. Contrary to hypotheses, neither self-stigma nor coping were related to mood change following exposure to the SIDAS. The multiple regression model was not significant, F(9,643) = 1.16, p = .31., nor was any single predictor including gender, current Suicide risk β = -.04, t = -.80 or psychological distress β = -.09, t = -1.76, p = .08. These findings suggest that online exposure to a suicide risk tool is unlikely to be iatrogenic in relation to state mood, even in the context of elevated self-stigma, suicidal ideation and psychological distress.