Jan Christopher Cwik1, Benedikt Till2, Angela Bieda3, Simon E Blackwell4, Carolin Walter3, Tobias Teismann3. 1. Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Department of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: jan.cwik@rub.de. 2. Suicide Research Unit, Institute of Social Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. 3. Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Department of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany. 4. Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Department of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany; MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK.
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 Â
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 Â
Authors: Inga-Lill Ramberg; Sebastian Hökby; Linda Karlsson; Gergö Hadlaczky Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-04-10 Impact factor: 3.390