At. Beck et al., PSYCHOMETRIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCALE FOR SUICIDE IDEATION WITH PSYCHIATRIC OUTPATIENTS, Behaviour research and therapy, 35(11), 1997, pp. 1039-1046
The psychometric properties of the Scale for Suicide Ideation-Current
(SSI-C; Beck, Kovacs & Weissman, 1979, Journal of Consulting and Clini
cal Psychology, 47, 343-352) and the Scale for Suicide Ideation-Worst
(SSI-W; Beck, Brown, Steer, Dahlsgaard & Grisham, 1997, in press) were
explored. These 19-item clinician-administered scales measure current
suicide ideation (SSI-C) as well as suicide ideation at its worst poi
nt in the patient's life (SSI-W). For a sample of 4063 outpatients, bo
th scales were positively correlated with a diagnosis of a principal m
ood disorder, a diagnosis of a personality disorder, and measures of d
epression and hopelessness. The relationship between the SSI-W and a h
istory of suicide attempts was stronger (r = 0.50, P < 0.001) than the
relationship between the SSI-C and previous suicide attempts (r = 0.3
1, P < 0.001). For 444 current and 1764 past suicide ideators, the SSI
-C and the SSI-W had high internal consistencies (coefficient alpha s
= 0.84 and 0.89, respectively). The SSI-C and the SSI-W were moderated
ly correlated with each other (r = 0.51, P < 0.001). Iterated maximum-
likelihood principal-factor analyses identified comparable Preparation
and Motivation dimensions underlying both scales. (C) 1997 Elsevier S
cience Ltd.