MAYSI-2 Second Screening Option

MAYSI-2 Second Screening is an optional way to follow up when a youth scores above the cut-off criterion on any scale. For each scale, three or four interview questions have been designed, asked by the person administering MAYSI-2 after the MAYSI-2 scores have been obtained. The purpose is to provide a check on the potential meaning of the youth’s high score.

This is often of value because youths sometimes get high scores for reasons that do not necessarily require immediate intervention. For example, youths with a high score on Suicide Ideation will often require immediate suicide precautions. But this might not be necessary if a second screening question for this scale indicates that the youth is reporting feelings that were experienced several weeks ago but are not being experienced now.