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To the Editor: The study by Dr Gould and colleagues¹ addressed whether asking high school students about suicidal ideation or behaviors was harmful. We are concerned about aspects of the study methods. The study describes a group-randomized trial design in which 181 classrooms, containing 2342 students enrolled at 6 purposively selected New York State high schools, were randomized to 1 of the 2 study conditions. Rather than using data analytic techniques developed for group-randomized designs² that we believe are the current standard, the authors concluded, based on their observation that the within-school intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were all close to 0, that traditional multivariable regression models would be appropriate.

Although it is arguable whether the schools in this trial should be considered to be random or fixed effects in the analysis, it is nevertheless paramount that the group randomization be explicitly accounted for. Failure to use analytic models that account . . . [Full Text of this Article]

William E. Schlenger, PhD
bs@rti.org

Rick L. Williams, PhD; Jonathan L. Blitstein, PhD
RTI International
Research Triangle Park, NC

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