Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ): Preliminary Validation of the Hebrew Version Among Adolescents

OBJECTIVE: Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among adolescents. Given that most youth interact with healthcare system providers in the month preceding a suicide attempt, rapid and effective suicide screening tools are critically needed. The Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) is a brief, evidence-based instrument specifically designed for the quick identification of adolescents at elevated suicide risk in time-critical and high-stress settings, such as Emergency Departments. This study aimed to conduct a preliminary validation of the Hebrew translation of the ASQ questionnaire, enabling its use as a rapid and evidence-based suicide-screening tool among Hebrew-speaking adolescents. METHOD: A total of 20 adolescents aged 10 to 18 participated in this study. A randomized, cross-over design was employed to assess the concordance between the original English version of the ASQ and its Hebrew translation. The two versions were administered in counterbalanced order, with an approximately two-day interval between administrations. RESULTS: Translation reliability between the English and Hebrew ASQ versions was extremely high, with 99% identical responses across all items. Four items showed perfect agreement, and the remaining item demonstrated near-perfect concordance. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the strong reliability of the Hebrew translation.