Psychometric Characteristics of the Wish to Be Dead Scale (WDS) in Iranian Psychiatric Outpatients

The desire to be dead among Bhutanese refugees resettled in the United States: Assessing risk

Bhutanese refugees are at elevated risk for suicide, but culturally inflexible suicide risk models may hinder accurate risk detection in this population. This cross-sectional study aimed to use a theoretical model based on the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide and the cultural model of suicide to improve suicide risk-assessment among Bhutanese refugees. Participants included 60 Bhutanese refugees (31 males and 29 females), aged 18 to 65, resettled in Vermont. Suicidal ideation (n = 4, 6.7%) was low, but a substantial minority (n = 29, 48.3%) endorsed some desire to be dead. Perceived burdensomeness, but not thwarted belongingness, was significantly associated with both suicidal ideation and the desire to be dead. Neither desire to be dead nor suicidal ideation was significantly related to suicide attempt history. Results highlight that including assessments of desire to be dead in addition to assessments of suicidal ideation may address the problem of underidentification of Bhutanese refugees at risk for suicidal behavior, particularly those who do not present with suicidal ideation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Suicide and Suicide-related Behavior among Bhutanese Refugees Resettled in the United States

Suicidal behavior and death by suicide are significant and pressing problems in the Bhutanese refugee community. Currently, Bhutanese refugees are dying by suicide at a rate nearly two times that of the general U.S. population. Proper identification of risk factors for suicide saves lives; however, if risk is underestimated due to culturally inflexible risk assessments, preventable deaths may continue to occur. In this review, we examine specific cultural factors related to psychopathology and suicide among Bhutanese refugees. To contextualize the current suicide crisis among Bhutanese refugees, we propose an integration of the interpersonal psychological theory of suicide (Joiner, 2005) and the cultural model of suicide (Chu, Goldblum, Floyd, & Bongar, 2010). We provide recommendations for preventing suicide from a systems framework and discuss practical lessons from a preliminary study designed to test a culturally-responsive model of suicide in Bhutanese refugees.

The Psychometric Parameters of the Farsi Form of the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety

The aim of this study was to describe the psychometric properties of the Farsi Form of the Arabic Scale of Death Anxiety (ASDA). The original scale was first translated into Farsi by language experts using the back translation procedure and then administered to a total of 252 Iranian college students and 52 psychiatric outpatients from psychiatric and psychological clinics. The one-week test-retest reliability of the Farsi version in a sample of college students was 0.78, indicating good temporal stability and corroborating the trait-like nature of scores. Cronbach's α was 0.90 for the college students and 0.92 for the psychiatric outpatients, indicating high internal consistency. Scale scores correlated 0.46 with Death Obsession Scale scores, 0.56 with Death Depression Scale scores, 0.41 with Death Anxiety Scale scores, and 0.40 with Wish to be Dead Scale scores, indicating good construct and criterion-related validity. A principal component analysis with a Varimax rotation yielded four factors in the sample of Iranian college students, indicating a lack of homogeneity in the content of the scale. Male students obtained a significant higher mean score than did females. It was concluded that the Farsi ASDA had good internal consistency, temporal stability, criterion-related validity, and a factor structure reflecting important features of death anxiety. In general, the Farsi ASDA could be recommended for use in research on death anxiety among Iranian college students and psychiatric outpatients.