Citation

Cwik JC, Till B, Bieda A, Blackwell SE, Walter C, Teismann T. Compr. Psychiatry 2016; 72: 56-65.

Affiliation

Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Department of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.comppsych.2016.09.008

PMID

27744108

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Our study aimed to validate a previously published scale assessing attitudes towards suicide. Factor structure, convergent and discriminant validity, and predictive validity were investigated.

METHOD: Adult German participants (N=503; mean age=24.74years; age range=18-67years) anonymously completed a set of questionnaires. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted, and incongruous items were deleted. Subsequently, scale properties of the reduced scale and its construct validity were analyzed. A confirmatory factor analysis was then conducted in an independent sample (N=266; mean age=28.77years; age range=18-88years) to further confirm the factor structure of the questionnaire.

RESULTS: Parallel analysis indicated a three-factor solution, which was also supported by confirmatory factor analysis: right to commit suicide, interpersonal gesture and resilience. The subscales demonstrated acceptable construct and discriminant validity. Cronbach's α for the subscales ranged from 0.67 to 0.83, explaining 49.70% of the total variance.

CONCLUSIONS: Positive attitudes towards suicide proved to be predictive of suicide risk status, providing preliminary evidence for the utility of the scale. Future studies aiming to reproduce the factor structure in a more heterogeneous sample are warranted.

Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Language: en