Sonia Wadhwa1, Marnin J Heisel1,2,3,4. 1. Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. 2. Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. 3. Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada. 4. Department of Psychiatry, Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA.
Abstract
Objectives: To derive a brief late-life suicide resiliency scale from the 69-item Reasons for Living Scale-Older Adult version (RFL-OA). Methods: We conducted a series of secondary analyses of RFL-OA data (N = 204) from a dataset combining: 1. A follow-up assessment of nursing home residents in the Geriatric Suicide Ideation Scale (GSIS) development study; 2. A trial of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) with suicidal older adults; 3. A longitudinal study of risk and resiliency to late-life suicide ideation. We specifically assessed the distributions of RFL-OA items and their associations with suicide ideation and behavior to create an RFL-Suicide Resiliency subscale (RFL-SR); we then tested the psychometric properties of this measure's items drawn from the larger RFL-OA. Results: Nine RFL-OA items were significantly associated with suicide ideation and history of suicide behavior and were not highly correlated with social desirability. Psychometric analyses supported the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity of this scale.Conclusions: The items of the RFL-SR demonstrated strong psychometric properties with older adults in clinical and community settings.Clinical Implications: The RFL-SR may make a useful addition to suicide risk assessment in gerontological research and clinical practice.
Objectives: To derive a brief late-life suicide resiliency scale from the 69-item Reasons for Living Scale-Older Adult version (RFL-OA). Methods: We conducted a series of secondary analyses of RFL-OA data (N = 204) from a dataset combining: 1. A follow-up assessment of nursing home residents in the Geriatric Suicide Ideation Scale (GSIS) development study; 2. A trial of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) with suicidal older adults; 3. A longitudinal study of risk and resiliency to late-life suicide ideation. We specifically assessed the distributions of RFL-OA items and their associations with suicide ideation and behavior to create an RFL-Suicide Resiliency subscale (RFL-SR); we then tested the psychometric properties of this measure's items drawn from the larger RFL-OA. Results: Nine RFL-OA items were significantly associated with suicide ideation and history of suicide behavior and were not highly correlated with social desirability. Psychometric analyses supported the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity of this scale.Conclusions: The items of the RFL-SR demonstrated strong psychometric properties with older adults in clinical and community settings.Clinical Implications: The RFL-SR may make a useful addition to suicide risk assessment in gerontological research and clinical practice.