THE LIFE ATTITUDES SCHEDULE - A SCALE TO ASSESS ADOLESCENT LIFE-ENHANCING AND LIFE-THREATENING BEHAVIORS

The purpose of this study was to develop a questionnaire to measure su icidal and other risk-taking behaviors, the Life Attitudes Schedule (L AS), and to test a theoretical model that postulates a single domain o f behaviors to which all life-threatening and life-enhancing behaviors belong. The LAS was developed and piloted on 1539 high school student s and young adults. The schedule measures four different content categ ories: death related, health related, injury related, and self-related . Each content category includes an equal number of items designed to assess actions, thoughts, and feelings. Consistent with the theoretica l model, the LAS includes positive (life-enhancing) and negative (life -threatening) behaviors, In this paper we present psychometric informa tion for the LAS. The results are interpreted as providing support for a broad, bipolar conceptualization of suicidal and other risk-taking behavior that encompasses life-threatening and life enhancing behavior s.