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Violent Suicide Attempts in AdolescentsMENTACOG-TSNCT07688798

Mentalization and Social Cognition in Adolescents After Suicide Attempt

A study testing Test and Questionnaires in people with Violent Suicide Attempts in Adolescents, run by Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris at 1 site in France.

Not yet recruiting

Opening soon. The study is approved but enrolment has not started yet. Sites may already take enquiries.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial 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. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 12 to 16 years
Conditions the study is for
Violent Suicide Attempts in Adolescents
What is being tested?
Test and Questionnaires
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
82 participants
Where
1 siteFrance
Study dates
Oct 2026to Apr 2028
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 12 to 16 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child

Who may be able to join

  • Adolescents aged 12 to 16 years, inclusive
  • Having made a violent or non-violent suicide attempt
  • Hospitalized in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Necker Children's Hospital
  • No intellectual disability (IQ > 70)
  • Sufficient proficiency in French to complete the study assessments; at least one parent or legal guardian must also have sufficient proficiency in French
  • Written informed consent obtained from the holders of parental authority and assent obtained from the adolescent
  • Covered by a health insurance scheme

Who cannot join

  • Current psychotic disorder or documented history of a psychotic disorder
  • Current manic or hypomanic episode
  • Severe neurological or medical condition likely to significantly affect cognitive performance
  • Moderate-to-severe substance use disorder requiring specialized treatment
  • Acute intoxication or withdrawal state at the time of assessment- Written informed consent obtained from parents or legal guardians and assent obtained from the adolescent

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Catherine Grosmaitre, PhD contact

033144494561

catherine.grosmaitre@aphp.fr

Hélène Morel contact

helene.morel@aphp.fr

France1 site
  • Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades

    Paris, 75015

    Catherine Grosmaitre, PhD, 033144494561, catherine.grosmaitre@aphp.fr

Other trials in France

About this study

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.

Read more

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.

Read the detailed description

This research examines violent suicide risk in adolescents through the study of social cognition and sleep disturbances, with the aim of clarifying the cognitive and behavioral mechanisms involved and informing more targeted prevention strategies. Violent suicide attempts are defined as attempts involving methods associated with a high risk of fatal outcome. Such attempts have been associated with distinct clinical characteristics and risk profiles, including a greater risk of recurrence and completed suicide. Although the association between suicidal risk and psychiatric history is well documented, evidence regarding the neurocognitive factors involved remains limited and inconsistent. Social cognition refers to the cognitive processes involved in perceiving, interpreting, and responding to social information. Adolescence is a critical developmental period for social cognition, characterized both by ongoing maturation of socio-emotional and prefrontal brain networks and by increasing social demands, including greater reliance on peer relationships, heightened sensitivity to social evaluation, and the emergence of more complex interpersonal interactions. These developmental changes may influence how adolescents interpret and respond to interpersonal stressors associated with suicidal vulnerability. However, the relationship between social cognition and suicidal risk in adolescents remains poorly understood, and relatively few studies have specifically investigated the cognitive mechanisms that may contribute to the emergence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in this population. Finally, studies conducted in community adolescent samples suggest that insufficient sleep duration is associated with increased suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors, independently of depressive symptoms.

Being tested
Test, Questionnaires
Keywords
Violent suicide attempts, Teenagers, Social cognition, Sleep Disturbance
Medical subject headings
Parasomnias

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • TestOther

    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.
  • QuestionnairesOther

    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
Study groups in NCT07688798
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Adolescents who have attempted violent suicideExperimentalAdolescents aged 12 to 16 inclusive who have attempted violent suicide and are hospitalized at Necker Children's Hospital : * Hospitalization lasting more than 24 hours. * One criterion among: treatment in a specialized department, surgery under general anesthesia, intensive medical treatment, attempted suicide by methods involving a high risk of mortality (hanging, firearm, etc.). And their parents.
Receives: Other: Test; Other: Questionnaires
Adolescents who have attempted nonviolent suicideExperimentalAdolescents aged 12 to 16 inclusive who have attempted non-violent suicide (low or moderate lethality means) and are hospitalized at Necker Children's Hospital and matched with adolescents who have attempted violent suicide according to three control variables: gender, main psychiatric diagnosis, and socio-economic precariousness (binary score from a validated scale). And their parents.
Receives: Other: Test; Other: Questionnaires

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Level of performance in social cognition in the two groups of adolescents hospitalized following a suicide attempt, distinguishing: adolescents who made a violent suicide attempt and those who made a non-violent suicide attempt

    Social cognition will be assessed using three subtests from the Clinical Assessment of Social Cognition (ClaCoS) battery. The PERSO task evaluates social reasoning through the interpretation of social situations and yields a total score based on the number of correct responses. The MASC (Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition) assesses theory of mind using a video-based task and provides a total score corresponding to the number of correctly inferred mental states. The AIHQ assesses attributional biases in ambiguous social situations and generates scores reflecting hostile and intentionality attribution biases. For all three measures, scores will be analysed as continuous variables, with higher scores indicating better social cognitive performance (PERSO, MASC) or stronger attributional biases (AIHQ).

    Measured: 1 day

Secondary outcomes (8)
  1. Severity of suicidal intention

    Measurement of the severity of suicidal intention by the Suicide Intent Scale (SIS) rated by the service psychologist based on information collected in the clinical file in the two groups of adolescents hospitalized following a suicide attempt, distinguishing: adolescents who made a violent suicide attempt and those who made a non-violent suicide attempt.

    Measured: 1 day

  2. Level of socio-economic precariousness

    Level of precariousness and social vulnerability score using the EPICES questionnaire in the two groups of adolescents hospitalized following a suicide attempt, distinguishing: adolescents who made a violent suicide attempt and those who made a non-violent suicide attempt.

    Measured: 1 day

  3. Level of anxiety

    Level of anxiety assessed using the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), a self-report questionnaire measuring specific and generalized anxiety symptoms in the two groups of adolescents hospitalized following a suicide attempt, distinguishing: adolescents who made a violent suicide attempt and those who made a non-violent suicide attempt.

    Measured: 1 day

  4. Level of depressive disorder

    Assessment of depression by the Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) section of the K-SADS (Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia), a semi-structured interview tool used to diagnose a major depressive episode according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria in the two groups of adolescents hospitalized following a suicide attempt, distinguishing: adolescents who made a violent suicide attempt and those who made a non-violent suicide attempt.

    Measured: 1 day

  5. Evaluation of attachment styles

    Evaluation of attachment styles, assessed by a self-reported questionnaire, the Adolescent Relationship Scale Questionnaire (ARSQ), in order to examine the quality of emotional bonds and perceived relational security in the two groups of adolescents hospitalized following a suicide attempt, distinguishing: adolescents who made a violent suicide attempt and those who made a non-violent suicide attempt.

    Measured: 1 day

  6. Level of sleep disturbances

    Sleep disturbances assessed using the Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SDSC), a 26-item caregiver-report questionnaire rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Total scores range from 26 to 130, with higher scores indicating greater sleep disturbance.

    Measured: 1 day

  7. Evaluation of socio-developmental / social-cognition skills

    Everyday socio-cognitive skills are assessed using the Socio-developmental Skills Questionnaire (SOCODEV), a 20-item parent-completed questionnaire evaluating mentalization, emotion recognition, social motivation, and prosocial behaviors. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always). Total scores range from 20 to 100, with higher scores indicating better socio-developmental skills. SOCODEV total scores are compared between adolescents hospitalized following a violent versus a non-violent suicide attempt.

    Measured: 1 day

  8. Severity of nightmares

    Nightmare severity assessed using the Disturbing Dreams and Nightmare Severity Index (DDNSI). Total scores range from 0 to 37, with higher scores indicating greater nightmare severity.

    Measured: 1 day

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted7 Jul 2026
  2. Study startOct 2026 (estimated)
  3. Primary completionApr 2028 (estimated)
  4. Study completionApr 2028 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Diagnosis
Allocation
Non-randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
82 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07688798
Sponsor's protocol ID
APHP251891
Other IDs
2025-A02756-43
Acronym
MENTACOG-TS
Status last verified
Sep 2026
First submitted
22 Jun 2026
Last updated
18 Sep 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Szeifert N, Balint L, Sebok B, Gonda X. Risk factors for violent suicide attempts: Hungarian cross-sectional study. Eur Psychiatry. 2025 Jun 11;68(1):e85. doi: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2025.10042.

    PubMed 40495519
  • Sastre-Buades A, Alacreu-Crespo A, Courtet P, Baca-Garcia E, Barrigon ML. Decision-making in suicidal behavior: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2021 Dec;131:642-662. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.005. Epub 2021 Oct 5.

    PubMed 34619171
  • Pompili M, Innamorati M, Forte A, Longo L, Mazzetta C, Erbuto D, Ricci F, Palermo M, Stefani H, Seretti ME, Lamis DA, Perna G, Serafini G, Amore M, Girardi P. Insomnia as a predictor of high-lethality suicide attempts. Int J Clin Pract. 2013 Dec;67(12):1311-6. doi: 10.1111/ijcp.12211.

    PubMed 24246209
  • Perrain R, Dardennes R, Jollant F. Risky decision-making in suicide attempters, and the choice of a violent suicidal means: an updated meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2021 Feb 1;280(Pt A):241-249. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.11.052. Epub 2020 Nov 12.

    PubMed 33220560
  • Parrish EM, Steenkamp L, Chalker SA, Moore RC, Pinkham A, Depp CA. Systematic Review of the Link Between Social Cognition and Suicidal Ideation and Behavior in People With Serious Mental Illness. Schizophr Bull Open. 2024 Mar 27;5(1):sgae007. doi: 10.1093/schizbullopen/sgae007. eCollection 2024 Jan.

    PubMed 38617732
  • Paus T, Keshavan M, Giedd JN. Why do many psychiatric disorders emerge during adolescence? Nat Rev Neurosci. 2008 Dec;9(12):947-57. doi: 10.1038/nrn2513. Epub 2008 Nov 12.

    PubMed 19002191
  • Mendle, J. (2014). Why Puberty Matters for Psychopathology. Child Development Perspectives, 8(4), 218-222. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12092

  • Oliphant RYK, Smith EM, Grahame V. What is the Prevalence of Self-harming and Suicidal Behaviour in Under 18s with ASD, With or Without an Intellectual Disability? J Autism Dev Disord. 2020 Oct;50(10):3510-3524. doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04422-6.

    PubMed 32125568
  • Mikami K, Inomata S, Hayakawa N, Ohnishi Y, Enseki Y, Ohya A, Haruki Y, Kishi Y, Shinohara Y, Ichimura A, Matsumoto H. Frequency and clinical features of pervasive developmental disorder in adolescent suicide attempts. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2009 Mar-Apr;31(2):163-6. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2008.12.003. Epub 2009 Feb 1.

    PubMed 19269537
  • MacPherson HA, Kim KL, Seymour KE, Wolff J, Esposito-Smythers C, Spirito A, Dickstein DP. Cognitive Flexibility and Impulsivity Deficits in Suicidal Adolescents. Res Child Adolesc Psychopathol. 2022 Dec;50(12):1643-1656. doi: 10.1007/s10802-022-00952-y. Epub 2022 Jun 25.

    PubMed 35751716
  • Lubbert M, Bahlmann L, Sobanski T, Schulz A, Kastner UW, Walter M, Jollant F, Wagner G. Investigating the Clinical Profile of Suicide Attempters Who Used a Violent Suicidal Means. J Clin Med. 2022 Dec 2;11(23):7170. doi: 10.3390/jcm11237170.

    PubMed 36498743
  • Levi-Belz Y, Beautrais A. Serious Suicide Attempts. Crisis. 2016 Jul;37(4):299-309. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000386. Epub 2016 Jun 1.

    PubMed 27245812
  • Levi-Belz Y, Gvion Y, Horesh N, Fischel T, Treves I, Or E, Stein-Reisner O, Weiser M, David HS, Apter A. Mental pain, communication difficulties, and medically serious suicide attempts: a case-control study. Arch Suicide Res. 2014;18(1):74-87. doi: 10.1080/13811118.2013.809041.

    PubMed 24350568
  • Larson T, Lundstrom S, Nilsson T, Selinus EN, Rastam M, Lichtenstein P, Gumpert CH, Anckarsater H, Kerekes N. Predictive properties of the A-TAC inventory when screening for childhood-onset neurodevelopmental problems in a population-based sample. BMC Psychiatry. 2013 Sep 25;13:233. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-13-233.

    PubMed 24066834
  • Kwon SJ, Turpyn CC, Duell N, Telzer EH. Neural Underpinnings of Social Contextual Influences on Adolescent Risk-Taking. Curr Addict Rep. 2020 Sep;7(3):413-420. doi: 10.1007/s40429-020-00328-6. Epub 2020 Sep 1.

    PubMed 36176898

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Test and Questionnaires in people with Violent Suicide Attempts in Adolescents, run by Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris at 1 site in France.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 7 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 18 Sep 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in France. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Catherine Grosmaitre, PhD (033144494561, catherine.grosmaitre@aphp.fr), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Level of performance in social cognition in the two groups of adolescents hospitalized following a suicide attempt, distinguishing: adolescents who made a violent suicide attempt and those who made a non-violent suicide attempt (time frame: 1 day). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07688798, which also lists 33 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 18 Sep 2026.

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