Psychometric evaluation of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ) using item analysis according to the Rasch model

Understanding suicidal ideation-a network analysis of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire

INTRODUCTION

Identifying various interacting risk factors for suicidality is important to develop preventive measures. The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidal Behavior (IPTS) postulates suicidal ideation resulting from the occurrence of Perceived Burdensomeness (PB) and Thwarted Belongingness (TB). Suicidal behavior ultimately occurs if people have a Capability for Suicide. In past studies, the validity of TB was often not empirically confirmed, questioning which of the aspects of TB are central and related to suicidal ideation and whether applied measurement methods adequately capture the construct.

METHOD

Using a sample of 3,404 individuals from different clinical and nonclinical settings, 30% (1,023) of whom reported suicidal ideation, two network analyses were conducted on the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ) and a variable mapping suicidal ideation.

RESULTS

Analyses revealed that some items of the INQ were not related to suicidal ideation and the most central items did not have the strongest associations to suicidal ideation.

CONCLUSION

Based on these results, a shortened version of the INQ with the four items that showed the strongest associations with suicidal ideation in the network analyses was suggested.

Psychometric evaluation of the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care instrument using Item analysis according to the Rasch model

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) instrument assesses patient care in alignment with the chronic care model. The aim of the study was to comprehensively validate the PACIC using the Rasch model. A special focus was placed on the investigation of local dependence (LD), differential item functioning (DIF) and targeting.

METHOD

This secondary analysis utilized data of 760 patients with a diagnosis of diabetes who had participated in the Swiss CoDiab-VD cohort study. The psychometric properties of the French PACIC-version were evaluated using the Rasch model. DIF was investigated in relation to age, gender, education, year of recruitment into the CoDiab-VD cohort study, type of diabetes and whether patients got an injectable antidiabetic drug or not.

RESULTS

The initial analysis of the PACIC revealed poor fit to the Rasch model (χ² -p < 0.001) with response dependency being the most prominent problem. After combining the items into two testlets (testlet 1: Items 1-11; testlet 2: Items 12-20), good overall model fit was found (χ² -p = 0.77) as well as good reliability (Person Separation Index = 0.85) and targeting. DIF with regard to whether patients got an injectable antidiabetic drug or not was found for testlet 2. However, the size of this DIF was regarded as not being substantial.

CONCLUSION

The PACIC is a well-targeted, reliable unidimensional instrument to assess patient care in alignment with the chronic care model in patients with diabetes. It is free of substantial DIF. The PACIC-20 sum score can hence be used in clinical practice for individual diagnostic. For evaluation purposes like assessment of change or group evaluations, the usage of the interval-scale level person parameters is recommended as it permits using parametric statistical analyses and provides a more accurate picture about the actual amount of change.

Psychometric Properties of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-15 in Spanish Adolescents

BACKGROUND

Thwarted Belongingness (TB) and Perceived Burdensomeness (PB) are considered risk factors of suicide behavior in the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide and constitute the main factors of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-INQ.

AIMS

The present study analyzes the internal consistency, construct validity, and invariance across sex and age of the INQ-15, which comprises two subscales, in a sample of Spanish community adolescents.

METHODS

Participants were 1,536 adolescents from 12 to 19 years old. The INQ-15, the total number of non-suicidal self-injuries (NSSI), the Hopelessness Scale, and the Purpose in Life Test-Adolescents (PIL-A) were used.

RESULTS

The INQ-15 showed good internal consistency for TB ( ω ¯ = 0.88) and PB ( ω ¯ = 0.78) subscales and construct and concurrent/discriminant validity in the whole sample. Both the PB and TB subscales showed a good fit { S B χ 2 ( 9 ) = 6.448, p = 0.694, CFI = 1.000, RMSEA = 0.000 [90% CI (0.000, 0.022)] and S B χ 2 ( 27 ) = 248.973, p = 0.000, CFI = 0.922, RMSEA = 0.073 [90% CI (0.065, 0.082)]}, respectively. Regarding the invariance analyses, we found (1) non-invariance in the PB subscale across sex groups and metric, scalar, and stric invariance across age groups, and (2) that it was not possible to perform the invariance analysis for the TB subscale across both sex and age because the fit was not adequate for both boys and 12-15 years old groups. Positive and significant relationships were found between the INQ-15 subscales and hopelessness and NSSI frequency, and negative and significant correlations with meaning in life.

CONCLUSIONS

The INQ-15 is a valid instrument for assessing TB and PB in Spanish adolescents. Future studies should analyze the invariance of this instrument in adolescents across sex and age.