Establishing the psychometric properties and construct validity of the Painful and Provocative Events Scale-Revised

Preliminary Validation of Two Brief Measures of Masculine and Feminine Honor Endorsement

Researchers have developed numerous individual differences measures to assess people's endorsement of honor ideology (i.e., beliefs regarding the importance of honor and reputation) with most ranging from 12-36 items in length. Despite having great utility, the length of these measures magnifies the costs associated with survey research, especially in research contexts that use large, representative samples (e.g., health surveys). The present study aimed to develop and validate single-item measures that assess participants' agreement with gender-specific honor prototypes, as well as short-form versions of the honor ideology for manhood (HIM) and honor ideology for womanhood (HIW) scales. An initial sample of participants (N = 879) completed single-item honor prototype measures, a battery of previously validated honor measures (including the HIM and HIW), and measures of constructs previously shown to be related to the dynamics of honor (e.g., aggression, firearm ownership). A second sample of participants (N = 100) completed the new measures, as well as an abbreviated battery of honor measures, to examine test-retest reliability. Results indicated that the new, brief measures were strongly correlated with both the original HIM and HIW as well as several other established honor measures. Moreover, the associations between these new measures and honor-related outcomes were nearly identical to those found with the original HIM and HIW. Our new measures also demonstrated acceptable test-retest reliability, despite being single-item scales. Overall, the present work provides preliminary support for several brief measures of honor endorsement that researchers can use when longer scales are not feasible.

An analysis of the Painful and Provocative Events Scale: Some painful and provocative findings

This research investigated the latent structure and correlates of the 26-item Painful and Provocative Events Scale (PPES). For a sample of 290 community respondents, results from parallel analysis indicated a 5-factor structure. Based on principal axis factoring with varimax rotation, scales of Intense physicality, Physical and mental trauma, Physical risk taking, Psychopathy, and Body enhancement were constructed, and these demonstrated a pattern of convergent and discriminant correlations with suicide-associated and demographic variables that supported the delineation of these scales as being distinct. In general, results challenge the current scoring of the PPES and, with developed scales being differentially related to demographic variables, indicate that both respondent age and sex require consideration for scale score interpretation.

How do sexual and gender minority people acquire the capability for suicide? Voices from survivors of near-fatal suicide attempts

Despite well-documented disparities by sexual and gender minority (SGM) status in suicide attempt and mortality rates, few studies have investigated the lived experiences that contribute to SGM people's disproportionate risk of suicide. Having a history of at least one near-fatal (or medically serious) suicide attempt serves as a proxy for suicide mortality, but no known study has involved SGM people who have made such an attempt. Ideation-to-action theories of suicide posit that individuals acquire the capability for suicide through repeated exposure to painful and provocative events - namely, traumatic, threatening, and risky experiences - that can diminish the pain and fear of death. Yet whether identity-specific features of acquired capability for suicide contribute to SGM people's disproportionate risk of suicide remains unknown. Drawing upon interviews with 22 SGM people who experienced a recent near-fatal suicide attempt, the current study sought to identify specific determinants of how SGM individuals acquire the capability to kill themselves, a potentially powerful, and modifiable, pathway to suicide. Results identified three SGM-specific contributors to the acquired capability for suicide: (1) identity invalidation during developmentally sensitive periods of childhood and adolescence that left participants feeling erased, invisible, and, in some cases, non-existent; (2) normalization of suicide within SGM social networks that increased acceptability and reduced the fear of suicide; and (3) structural stigma and SGM community trauma as habituating sources of pain that engendered feelings of exhaustion and positioned suicide as a reprieve from pervasive anti-SGM norms. This study demonstrates that dominant suicidology theories might need to be refined to account for the stigma-related determinants of SGM suicide. Further, this study reinforces the importance of qualitative methods for understanding the lived experience of suicide and calls for SGM-specific suicide prevention efforts to respond to stigma to support those SGM people who contemplate suicide.

Factors contributing to honor-endorsing men's suicide capability: Firearm ownership, practical capability, and exposure to painful and provocative events

OBJECTIVE

White men in U.S. cultures of honor die by suicide at greater rates than other demographic groups. This finding has been attributed to factors such as the prevalence and use of firearms in men's suicide in honor states, as well as motivational risk factors (e.g., thwarted belongingness). Other features of honor cultures (e.g., physical aggression, risk-taking behaviors) suggest that honor-endorsing men may frequently experience painful and provocative events (PPEs), which, in turn, may facilitate practical capability for suicide. The present work tested this hypothesis and honor ideology's relationship to firearm ownership and storage practices.

METHOD

In two samples of mostly White U.S. men-one undergraduate sample (N = 472, M_age  = 19.76) and one middle- to older adult sample (N = 419, M_age  = 65.17)-we assessed honor ideology endorsement, PPEs, practical capability for suicide, and firearm-related outcomes.

RESULTS

Honor endorsement was greater among firearm owners (particularly self-protective owners), but it was unrelated to storage practices. Honor endorsement was positively associated with PPEs and practical capability. Additionally, the relationship between honor ideology and practical capability was indirectly explained by PPE exposure.

CONCLUSIONS

Results highlight multiple avenues-PPEs, practical capability for suicide, (self-protective) firearm ownership-by which masculine honor norms may place men at risk for suicide.

Exploring the scope and structure of suicide capability

OBJECTIVE

Recent theories of suicide suggest that a construct called "capability for suicide" facilitates the progression from suicidal thoughts to attempts. Various measures of capability have been developed to assess different parts of the construct, but studies report inconsistent findings regarding reliability, validity, and structure. The present study pooled items from multiple measures to identify distinct, reliable, and valid domains of suicide capability.

METHOD

We administered items from several suicide capability measures to an online sample of US adults (n = 387), and utilized exploratory factor analysis to identify distinct domains of capability. We then examined the internal consistencies of and intercorrelations among these domains, as well as their associations with suicide attempts.

RESULTS

Findings identified three domains of suicide capability: fearlessness about death, practical capability, and pain tolerance. These domains were internally consistent (αs = 0.80-0.92), and relatively independent from one another (intercorrelations = 0.15-0.35). Finally, each of these domains was moderately elevated among attempters compared to ideators (although only fearlessness about death and practical capability offered unique information about attempter status).

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that fearlessness about death, practical capability, and pain tolerance can be measured reliably, and may be relevant for understanding which ideators make attempts.