Development and validation of the Assessment for Repeated Suicide

• Published in: Asia-Pacific psychiatry Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 20 - 29
• Main Authors: Yeh, Andrew Wei-Chiang, Hung, Chi-Fa, Lee, Yu, Lin, Pao-Yen, Chiu, Nien-Mu, Huang, Tsan-Yu, Hsu, Su-Ting, Lee, Chun-Yi, Chen, Chien-Chih, Lin, Huang-Chi, Chong, Mian-Yoon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Richmond Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.2012; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: aggression; impulsivity; negative ideation; positive ideation; repeated suicide; Suicides & suicide attempts; Validity
• ISSN: 1758-5864; 1758-5872
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1758-5872.2011.00165.x

Introduction This study developed and validated a multidimensional measure, the Assessment for Repeated Suicide (ARS), to assess suicide risk and predict future suicidal attempts within psychiatric populations who have previously attempted suicide. Methods A prospective case‐control study was conducted in a medical center between August 2004 and July 2007. Two stages were involved. Stage 1 involved the development of a 20‐item scale, the ARS, which was derived from 70 items based on expert validation. The 20‐item scale was then administered on suicide attempters enlisted from the emergency department (suicidal group) and non‐suicide attempters who were from the outpatient and inpatient units of the psychiatry department (control group). The factor structure of the new scale encompassing reliability and validity, were assessed. Stage 2 assessed the predictive validity of the ARS instrument at a one‐year follow‐up. Results Psychometric analyses indicated that the new scale, the ARS consisted of 19 items and had a four‐factor structure. Construct validity, concurrent validity and criterion validity were found to be good, and internal consistency and reliability were found to be satisfactory. The ARS itself and the subscale negative ideation were identified as useful predictors of suicide re‐attempts. Discussion The ARS is a valid instrument for assessing the risk of suicide attempts and re‐attempts. It has the advantage of integrating important psychological factors that are associated with suicide in the form of clinical interviews.