VALIDATION OF THE MULTI-ATTITUDE SUICIDE TENDENCY SCALE IN ADOLESCENTSAMPLES

The present study extended research on the factor structure and psycho metric properties of the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency scale (MAST). A mixed sample of 215 adolescents, aged 15 to 18 years, participated in the study. Exploratory principal-components analysis of the 30 MAST items provided support for the four-factor structure of the scale: at traction toward and repulsion by life and death. The MAST subscales sh owed satisfactory levels of internal consistency. Specific and subset of the MAST subscales were identified for differentiating among adoles cents who differed in degrees of psychopathology and suicidal behavior . Correlational and regression analyses examined the relations among t he MAST subscales and self-report measures of suicidal behavior, socia l desirability, and general psychopathology. Limitations and suggestio ns for future research are discussed.