A preliminary validation of the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) inventory with normal adolescent samples

The Positive and Negative Suicidal Ideation Inventory among Portuguese Adolescents: Factor Structure and Gender Invariance

Suicide worldwide is an issue that needs to be addressed, and adolescents are an at-risk group. Assessing suicidal ideation is central to tackling the issue of suicide. The Positive and Negative Suicidal Ideation inventory is a widely validated measure of suicidal ideation, and yet, very little is known about its invariance across various groups. The present study aimed to adapt and test the PANSI's structure in a Portuguese sample while testing its gender invariance. A total of 750 middle and high school students were recruited for the study, and data were collected on various suicide risk and protective factors, including the Portuguese-translated PANSI. Data were put through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Kaiser's criterion and scree plot both extracted two factors (64.10% variance explained). Confirmatory factor analysis also supported the PANSI's structure (TLI = 0.943). The PANSI showed good reliability (α ≥ 0.83) and good construct and discriminative validity. The PANSI also exhibited scalar, but not strict, invariance. Overall, these results were similar to previous versions of this scale. The PANSI is a reliable measure of suicide risk among Portuguese adolescents. Future studies should further replicate these results in other cultures and expand on them by testing for invariance across other demographic variables.

The Psychometric Properties of the Positive and Negative Suicidal Ideation Scale among Portuguese Young Adults

Preventing suicide has been a worldwide imperative for the last decade. Accurately assessing suicide risk is the first step towards prevention, and access to reliable tools that measure risk factors is essential to achieve this goal. The Positive And Negative Suicidal Ideation (PANSI) scale is a validated brief suicidal ideation scale that could prove useful to this goal due to its ability to measure both suicide risk and protective factors. The PANSI scale has been adapted to various languages and cultures across various clinical and non-clinical populations. Despite this, no Portuguese has been produced yet. The present study aimed to validate a Portuguese version of PANSI by evaluating its psychometric properties in a sample of 259 young adults. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the PANSI showed good psychometric properties (TLI = 0.95), good reliability for positive ideation (α = 0.84), and excellent reliability for negative ideation (α = 0.96). The scale also showed good discriminative ability through prediction of a previous suicide attempt and good construct validity in both subscales. The Portuguese adaptation of the PANSI scale is a reliable measure of positive and negative suicidal ideation that could prove useful in both clinical and research settings.

Psychological Risk and Protective Factors for Suicidal Ideation: A Study in an Adolescent Sample in an Insular Context

Objectives

Adolescents are at risk of suicide. As suicide is a multifactorial process, risk and protective factors are relevant constructs for suicide prediction. This study explored the effects of risk and protective factors on suicidal ideation in adolescents on the island of São Miguel (Azores).

Methods

A sample of 750 adolescents (male: n=358; 47.7%; mean age=14.67 years; standard deviation=1.85 years) from the island of São Miguel (Azores) completed several measures related to suicidal ideation and associated factors. Using a cross-sectional design, this study conducted descriptive, correlational, predictive, mediation, and moderation analyses.

Results

Adolescents generally displayed high levels of risk and protective factors; an indicative proportion exhibited significant suicidal ideation with females presenting the greatest vulnerability. Furthermore, the results highlight that depression is the best predictor of suicidal ideation, however, the association between these variables is mediated.

Conclusion

The data corroborate that the suicidal reality of adolescents in the Autonomous Region of the Azores is worrisome. Having substantiated the complexity of the suicidal context in young people in the present research, the need to continue studying risk/protective factors in this area is supported.

The Effect of Teacher Discrimination Behavior on Adolescent Suicidal Ideation: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Introduction

 Suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior, as the most severe psychological and behavioral problems among adolescents, bring not only significant damage to individual social functioning but also cause enormous economic and social pressure, which will ultimately be detrimental to social development and social stability. This paper aimed to explore the potential relationship between teacher discrimination behavior, peer bullying victimization, anxiety disorders, and adolescent suicidal ideation based on the Vulnerability-Stress Model.

Methods

 From September to November 2022, our research team surveyed 21,017 junior high school students from 12 secondary schools in ten cities in China. Mplus 8.3 software was used to analyze the pathways of teacher discrimination behavior on adolescent suicidal ideation.

Results

 The results showed that teacher preference had a significant negative effect on suicidal ideation, and teacher prejudice significantly positively affected suicidal ideation. Mediation test results indicated that there were significant independent mediating effects of peer bullying victimization and anxiety disorders between teacher discrimination behavior and adolescents' suicidal ideation, as well as significant chain mediating effects.

Conclusion

 Secondary school teachers should improve their self-quality and pay more attention to adolescents' suicidal ideation. Teachers are expected to put love into their education, respect and trust each student, and attend to their emotional needs unbiasedly. Educators should develop targeted prevention and intervention measures according to the actual situation of school bullying and also strengthen adolescents' life-value education to improve the psychological quality of adolescents and create a healthy campus atmosphere.

General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12): new evidence of construct validity

This study aimed to gather evidence on the adequacy of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in Brazil, considering a random sample of Brazilian physicians. Specifically aimed: (1) to test the GHQ-12 bifactor structure compared to alternative models, (2) to check its factorial invariance regarding to gender and the diagnosis of mental and behavioral disorders, and (3) to know the association of this measure with indicators of poor health (e.g., suicidal thoughts, decreased libido, medication use). The study included 1,085 physicians with a mean age of 45.7 (SD = 10.6), mostly male (61.5%), married (72.6%) and Catholic (59.2%). They answered the GHQ-12, the Positive and Negative Suicidal Ideation Inventory, and demographic questions. The best fit model was the bifactor structure composed of anxiety and depression, in addition to a general dimension, which presented Cronbach's alpha, McDonald's ω and composite reliability higher than 0.70 just for a general fact. Psychological distress scores correlated with suicidal ideation and indicators of health and sexual satisfaction. This is a psychometrically suitable instrument that can be used in terms of its total, but its specific factors need to be used with caution.

Interpersonal Risk Factors, Sexual and Gender Minority Status, and Suicidal Ideation: Is BDSM Disclosure Protective?

Suicidal ideation is elevated among individuals who engage in BDSM practices and those with sexual and gender minority (SGM) identities. There is limited research on the intersectionality of these identities and how they relate to suicidal ideation, especially within a theoretical framework of suicide risk, such as the interpersonal theory of suicide. Thus, we tested the indirect relation between BDSM disclosure and suicidal ideation through thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness, as well as the moderating role of SGM identity on these indirect associations. Participants were 125 (M_age = 28.27 years; 64% cisgender men) individuals recruited via online BDSM-related forums who endorsed BDSM involvement and recent suicidal ideation. Results indicated significant moderated mediation, such that BDSM disclosure was indirectly negatively related to suicidal ideation through lower thwarted belongingness, but not perceived burdensomeness, among SGM individuals. This was due to the significant relation between BDSM disclosure and thwarted belongingness. There were no significant moderated mediation or indirect effects related to perceived burdensomeness. We also provide supplemental analyses with positive ideation (i.e., positive thoughts toward life) as the criterion variable. In conclusion, BDSM disclosure appears to be protective against suicidal ideation through thwarted belongingness but only for SGM individuals. This work furthers our understanding of the impact of intersecting marginalized identities on suicide risk and resilience. Implications, limitations, and future directions are further discussed.

The factor structure and psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation Inventory (PANSI-C) in a non-clinical sample of Chinese adolescents

BACKGROUNDS

The Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory is a widely used self-report questionnaire which is designed to comprehensively evaluate the protective factors and negative risk factors associated with suicidal behaviors among adolescents. The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Chinese version of the PANSI in a non-clinical sample of Chinese adolescents.

METHODS

Participants (N = 1198) were Chinese middle school students aged 11-17 years (44.8% boys and 51.9% girls, 3.3% missing values) in Guizhou Province. All participants completed the Chinese version of the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation Inventory (PANSI-C), the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSE), and the suicide probability scale (SPS). Cronbach's alpha coefficients, confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson's correlations, and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis tests were conducted thereafter.

RESULTS

The results showed that the Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the two subscales of the PANSI-positive suicide ideation and the PANSI-negative suicide ideation were .696 and .915, respectively. The confirmatory factor analysis supported the fit of the two-factor model as the best fitting model [Chi-square goodness of fit = 703.859, p < .001, degrees of freedom = 76, comparative fit index = .919, Tucker-Lewis index = .903, standardized root mean square residual = .047, root mean square error of approximation (90% CI) = .083 (.077, .089)]. Positive suicide ideation had negative correlations with the SPS and positive correlations with the RSE, whereas the negative suicide ideation had positive correlations with the SPS and negative correlations with the RSE. All correlations were statistically significant (p < .001), demonstrating the criterion validity of the PANSI-C. Moreover, the strict measurement invariance of the PANSI-C was supported across gender, single-parent and non-single-parent households groups, and the strong measurement invariance was supported across age.

LIMITATIONS

The feasibility of this study is limited to Chinese normal adolescents and lack of clinical samples.

CONCLUSION

Empirical support for the reliability and validity of the PANSI-C was found. The PANSI-C instrument is found to be useful in assessing positive and negative suicide ideation in Chinese normal adolescents.

Adolescent Suicide Ideation, Depression and Self-Esteem: Relationships to a New Measure of Gender Role Conflict

Among 15-24 year olds in Ireland, completed suicide was responsible for 4.1 times more male deaths than female deaths in 2014 (World Health Organization [WHO], 2017). Few international research studies have investigated the relationship between masculinity [as assessed by a measure of gender role conflict (GRC)] and suicide ideation, and none have done so with Irish adolescents. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationships between a new measure of GRC developed specifically for use with Irish adolescents (I-GRCS-A; O'Beaglaoich et al., 2016), and depression, self-esteem, and negative/protective suicide ideation. A sample of 176 adolescent boys (M = 16.9, SD = 0.94) from a non-clinical population participated in the study. Regression analyses and tests of mediation revealed that depression significantly mediated the relationship between GRC and negative suicide ideation, whilst self-esteem and depression significantly mediated the relationship between GRC and positive suicide ideation. Implications and limitations of the current study are outlined and directions for future research are discussed.

Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory: Initial Psychometric Properties as a Suicide Risk Screening Tool Among Nigerian University Students

Objective:

The objective of this study is to examine the factor structure, validity, reliability, and the screening properties as a suicide risk assessment tool of the 14-item Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) in a nonclinical sample of Nigerian university students.

Methods:

A total of 514 students completed the PANSI, in addition to the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12).

Results:

Prior to the factor analysis, the sample was randomly divided into two. In one half of the sample (sample 1), exploratory factor analysis of the inventory yielded a 2-factor model (Negative Suicide Ideation [PANSI-NSI] and Positive Ideation [PANSI-PI]), whereas confirmatory factor analysis in the other half (sample 2) produced a 2-factor model with indices of fitness that indicated a satisfactory model fit ( c2 = 93.8; df = 67; χ2/degree of freedom = 1.400; P = .017; goodness of fit index = 0.951; Tucker-Lewis index = 0.964; comparative fit index = 0.974; root mean square error of approximation = 0.040). The internal consistencies of the items of the PANSI-PI and PANSI-NSI subscales were 0.75 and 0.79, respectively. The construct validity of the 2 subscales was modestly satisfactory: PANSI-PI had negative correlations with the GHQ-12 ( r = −.239, P < .001) and the BDI-II ( r = −.190, P < .001), whereas the PANSI-NSI had positive correlations with the GHQ-12 ( r = .248, P < .001) and the BDI-II ( r = .376, P < .001). In addition, a cutoff total score of 17 on the PANSI-NSI was associated with the best sensitivity (80.0%) and specificity (92.5%) in the identification of those students who endorsed experiencing suicidal ideation (area under the curve = 0.82, 95% confidence interval = 0.58-1.00).

Conclusions:

The PANSI has exhibited satisfactory psychometric properties as a self-rated suicidal behavior assessment instrument in the evaluation of the positive and negative thoughts associated with suicidal ideation among Nigerian university students.

Psychometric Properties and Validation of the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory in an Outpatient Clinical Population in Malaysia

The PANSI is a measure designed to assess the risk and protective factors related to suicidal behaviors. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory in a sample of clinical outpatients at a major hospital in Malaysia. In this study, 283 psychiatric patients and 200 medical (non-psychiatric) patients participated. All the patients completed the PANSI and seven other self-report instruments. Confirmative factor analysis supported the 2-factor oblique model. The internal consistency of the two subscales of PANSI-Negative and the PANSI-Positive were 0.93 and 0.84, respectively. In testing construct validity, PANSI showed sizable correlation with the other seven scales. Criterion validity was supported by scores on PANSI which differentiated psychiatric patients from medical patients. Logistic regression analyses showed PANSI can be used to classify the patients into suicidal or non-suicidal. The PANSI is a reliable and valid instrument to measure the severity of suicidal ideation among clinical outpatients in Malaysia.

Measurement Scales of Suicidal Ideation and Attitudes: A Systematic Review Article

Background: The main aim of this study was to accumulate research evidence that introduce validated scales to measure suicidal attitudes and ideation and provide an empirical framework for adopting a relevant assessment tool in studies on suicide and suicidal behaviors.

Methods: Medical Subject Headings’ (MeSH) terms were used to search Ovid Medline, PROQUEST, Wiley online library, Science Direct and PubMed for the published articles in English that reported application of an scale to measure suicidal attitudes and ideation from January 1974 onward.

Results: Fourteen suicidal attitude scale and 15 scales for assessing suicidal ideation were identified in this systematic review. No gold standard approach was recognized to study suicide related attitudes and ideations.

Conclusion: Special focus on generally agreed dimensions of suicidal ideation and attitudes and cross-cultural validation of the introduced scales to be applicable in different ethnic and socially diverse populations could be a promising area of research for scholars.

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Life Attitude Schedule (LAS-C) in a sample of Taiwanese adolescents

BACKGROUND

Although prior research has proposed that several risk factors are conceptually and positively related to suicidal behavior, researchers have also suggested that suicide may be multifaceted. The Life Attitude Schedule (LAS) measures a broad range of suicide-related behaviors, including life-enhancing and life-threatening behaviors.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to translate the LAS into Chinese and evaluate the psychometric properties of the new version (LAS-C).

DESIGN

A cross-sectional and descriptive design was used.

SETTING

Data were collected from high schools in the city of Taipei in northern Taiwan.

PARTICIPANTS

A convenience sample of 1492 high school students was recruited from five high schools in Taipei.

METHODS

We used the Multi-Health Systems (MHS) translation policy to guide the translation process. Reliability was evaluated by internal consistency (represented by Cronbach's α coefficients) and test-retest (represented by intraclass correlation). Validity was demonstrated by content, convergent, divergent, concurrent, and contrast group comparison. Confirmatory factor analysis was further used to examine the theoretical model and to support construct validity.

RESULTS

The Cronbach's α coefficient for the whole scale of the LAS-C and its subscales ranged from 0.70 to 0.91. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) ranged from 0.76 to 0.89 on the whole scale and its subscales, and were all statistically significant, at least at the p<0.05 level, indicating good stability over a three-week period. Validity was supported by a Content Validity Index (CVI) of 0.99, convergent, divergent, current, and contrast group comparison validity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the theoretical model, further providing solid evidence of construct validity.

CONCLUSIONS

The LAS-C has proper psychometric properties. Future studies must be conducted to shorten the items to form a briefer version.

Development and initial psychometric properties of the University of Texas at San Antonio Future Disposition Inventory

We describe the development and initial psychometric properties of a 24-item self-report measure, the University of Texas at San Antonio Future Disposition Inventory (UTSA FDI). This instrument is designed to evaluate future related thoughts and feelings that are associated with suicide-related risk behaviors: positive focus, suicide orientation, and negative focus. The items were generated by clinical and nonclinical samples. The structure of the instrument was defined in a sample of 350 university undergraduate students (Study 1). Using CFA, we confirmed the fit of the 3-factor solution in an independent sample of college age students (n=452; Study 2). Scale reliability estimates were good (all rho's>or=.80) in both studies. Known-groups validation analyses showed that scores on each scale were useful in differentiating the responses of the study groups. Correlates for the scales were identified when scores on measures of suicide-related risk and general psychological symptoms were included as validation self-report instruments.

Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory-II in nonclinical adolescent samples

This study examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; A. T. Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) in samples of high-school adolescents (N=414; 210 boys and 204 girls, ages 14-18 years). Confirmatory factor analyses provided satisfactory fit estimates for the two- and three-factor oblique solutions reported frequently in the extant literature. The solution to a general factor with domain-specific somatic and cognitive-affective factors was examined as an alternative model to previously established models for the current high-school sample data. Results provided stronger support for the general factor model. Estimates of internal consistency for scores on this instrument were high (coefficient alpha=.92, average interitem correlation=.35). The mean BDI-II total score for the nonclinical samples (M=12.50, SD=10.50) was compared with the mean scores reported for various adolescent normative samples in the extant literature. The BDI-II total score correlated moderately and significantly with scores on self-report measures of hopelessness (r=.63), anxiety (r=.53), and suicide-related behaviors (r=.57), providing support of adequate correlates for the BDI-II. Estimates of known-groups validity were evaluated using data from a small sample of 167 clinical adolescent inpatients. Specific study findings, limitations, and recommendations are discussed.

Validation of the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory in a diverse sample of young adults

The psychometric properties and factor structure of the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory are reported. Data from 220 Caucasian, 127 African American, 42 Latino/Hispanic, and 39 Asian American college students were collected and analyzed. Results indicate that the two-factor structure and internal consistency of the PANSI were upheld within the minority group sample; however, differences in responses to the PANSI subscales across racial/ethnic groups were observed. Correlational analyses support the convergent validity of the PANSI, although some group differences were noted. The identified group differences are discussed in terms of the utility of the PANSI and a potential need for separate racial/ethnic norms when assessing suicidal ideation and behaviors in diverse individuals.