Measuring attitudes towards suicide: Preliminary evaluation of an attitude towards suicide scale

What is it about?

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 = 24.74 years; age range = 18–67 years) 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 = 28.77 years; age range = 18–88 years) 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

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