Three Latent Subtypes of Suicide Risk and Network Characteristics of Scale Item Associations among Adolescents with Major Depressive Disorder: a Cross-Sectional Study

This study aimed to identify latent suicide risk subtypes among first-episode, treatment-naive adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD), and to explore the item-level association patterns across subtypes, so as to provide evidence for optimizing stratified suicide risk screening and supporting future longitudinal intervention research. Latent profile analysis (LPA) and regularized partial correlation network analysis were adopted to analyze data from 930 first-episode, treatment-naive adolescents with MDD aged 12–18 years. Suicide risk subtypes were identified based on the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R). Scale item association networks were constructed using items from the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), SBQ-R, and dimensions of Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC). Differences in high-centrality items and network structural characteristics were compared across subtypes. Three suicide risk subtypes were identified among adolescents with MDD: a low suicide risk group (n = 248, 26.7