Background
Methods
Study design and participants
Sample characteristics | Men (N = 1130) | Women (N = 1320) | Total sample (N = 2450) |
---|---|---|---|
Age group, N (%) | |||
18-24 | 88 (7.8%) | 93 (7.0%) | 181 (7.4%) |
25-34 | 150 (13.3%) | 188 (14.2%) | 338 (13.8%) |
35-44 | 183 (16.2%) | 218 (16.5%) | 401 (16.4%) |
45-54 | 221 (19.6%) | 264 (20.0%) | 485 (19.8%) |
55-64 | 225 (19.9%) | 251 (19.0%) | 476 (19.4%) |
65-74 | 177 (15.7%) | 183 (13.9%) | 360 (14.7%) |
> 74 | 86 (7.6%) | 123 (9.3%) | 209 (8.5%) |
Living with a partner, N (%) | 702 (63.1%) | 740 (57.2%) | 1442 (59.9%) |
Having at least 1 child, N (%) | 208 (18.4%) | 341 (25.8%) | 549 (22.4%) |
Member of a church, N (%) | 770 (68.5%) | 984 (74.8%) | 1754 (71.9%) |
Level of education attained, N (%) | |||
Completed Year 9 | 429 (38.0%) | 454 (34.4%) | 883 (36.0%) |
Completed Year 10 | 412 (36.5%) | 573 (43.5%) | 985 (40.2%) |
Completed Year 12 | 118 (10.4%) | 120 (9.1%) | 238 (9.7%) |
University Degree | 133 (11.8%) | 122 (9.2%) | 255 (10.4%) |
Other | 38 (3.4%) | 51 (3.9%) | 89 (3.5%) |
Employment status, N (%) | |||
In Training | 48 (4.3%) | 47 (3.5%) | 95 (3.8%) |
Working (> 35 h) | 605 (53.8%) | 388 (29.5%) | 993 (40.7%) |
Working (< 35 h) | 51 (4.5%) | 316 (24.0%) | 367 (15.0%) |
Unemployed | 74 (6.6%) | 77 (5.9%) | 151 (6.2%) |
Homemaker | 10 (0.9%) | 93 (7.1%) | 103 (4.2%) |
Retired | 334 (29.7%) | 377 (28.6%) | 711 (29.1%) |
Other | 2 (0.2%) | 18 (1.4%) | 20 (0.8%) |
Missing | 6 (0.5%) | 4 (0.3%) | 10 (0.4%) |
Monthly household income in €, N (%) | |||
< 1250 | 168 (14.9%) | 291 (22.0%) | 459 (18.7%) |
1250 - 2000 | 299 (26.5%) | 365 (27.7%) | 664 (27.1%) |
> 2000 | 633 (56.0%) | 630 (47.7%) | 1263 (51.6%) |
Missing | 30 (2.7%) | 34 (2.6%) | 64 (2.6%) |
Measures
Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS)
Patient Health Questionnaire 2 (PHQ-2)
Life satisfaction questionnaire (FLZ-8)
Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS)
Statistical analyses
Results
Item characteristics
General Population (N = 2450) | Risk group (N = 112) | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Item |
M
|
SD
|
P
i
| %a
|
r
it
|
M
|
SD
|
P
i
| %a
|
r
it
|
1 Wish to live | 0.05 | 0.24 | 3 | 3.8 | .78 | 0.68 | 0.71 | 33 | 53.6 | 0.72 |
2 Wish to die | 0.05 | 0.25 | 3 | 4.2 | .78 | 0.67 | 0.69 | 33 | 54.5 | 0.80 |
3 Reasons for living or dying | 0.045 | 0.24 | 3 | 3.8 | .73 | 0.59 | 0.67 | 29 | 49.1 | 0.76 |
4 Active suicide attempt | 0.02 | 0.18 | 1 | 2.0 | .70 | 0.53 | 0.64 | 26 | 44.7 | 0.54 |
5 Passive suicide attempt | 0.05 | 0.27 | 3 | 4.3 | .71 | 1.18 | 0.51 | 58 | 94.6 | 0.44 |
BSS-Screen total score | 0.22 | 0.98 | 2 | – | – | 3.64 | 2.54 | 36 | – | – |
Number of endorsed itemsa
| 0.18 | 0.75 | – | – | – | 2.96 | 1.58 | – | – | – |
Item |
M
|
SD
|
P
i
| % |
r
it
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Wish to live | 0.68 | 0.71 | 34 | 53.6 | .59 |
2 Wish to die | 0.67 | 0.69 | 33 | 54.5 | .61 |
3 Reasons for living or dying | 0.59 | 0.67 | 29 | 49.1 | .61 |
4 Active suicide attempt | 0.53 | 0.64 | 26 | 44.6 | .61 |
5 Passive suicide attempt | 1.18 | 0.51 | 59 | 94.6 | .37 |
6 Duration of suicidal thoughts | 0.26 | 0.55 | 13 | 20.5 | .55 |
7 Frequency of ideation | 0.21 | 0.45 | 11 | 18.8 | .62 |
8 Attitude toward ideation | 0.67 | 0.66 | 33 | 56.3 | .59 |
9 Control over suicidal action | 0.23 | 0.46 | 11 | 21.4 | .66 |
10 Deterrents to attempt | 0.73 | 0.83 | 37 | 49.1 | .47 |
11 Reasons for attempt | 1.28 | 0.80 | 64 | 78.6 | .19 |
12 Specificity of planning | 0.30 | 0.58 | 15 | 24.1 | .44 |
13 Availability or opportunity | 0.37 | 0.67 | 18 | 25.9 | .49 |
14 Capability to carry out attempt | 0.54 | 0.63 | 27 | 46.4 | .61 |
15 Expectancy of actual attempt | 0.28 | 0.51 | 14 | 25.0 | .72 |
16 Extent of actual preparation | 0.15 | 0.45 | 7 | 11.6 | .63 |
17 Suicide note | 0.16 | 0.44 | 8 | 14.3 | .58 |
18 Final acts | 0.16 | 0.44 | 8 | 13.4 | .43 |
19 Deception and concealment | 0.84 | 0.75 | 42 | 62.5 | .20 |
Total score | 3.64 | 2.54 | 36 | – | – |
Number of endorsed itemsa
| 2.96 | 1.58 | – | – | – |
Internal consistency
Factorial validity
Factorial invariance
Model | χ2
|
df
| CFI | RMSEA [95% CI] | ΔCFI
| ΔRMSEA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Group = gender | ||||||
Configural | 40.915 | 11 | 0.997 | 0.047 [0.032, 0.063] | – | – |
Weak | 48.435 | 15 | 0.997 | 0.043 [0.030, 0.056] | < .001 | 0.004 |
Strong | 48.776 | 19 | 0.997 | 0.036 [0.024, 0.048] | < .001 | 0.007 |
Strict | 50.061 | 23 | 0.998 | 0.031 [0.019, 0.043] | 0.001 | 0.005 |
Group = age | ||||||
Configural | 26.326 | 17 | 0.999 | 0.026 [0.000, 0.044] | – | – |
Weak | 57.155 | 25 | 0.997 | 0.040 [0.026, 0.053] | 0.002 | 0.014 |
Strong | 59.228 | 33 | 0.998 | 0.031 [0.018, 0.044] | 0.001 | 0.009 |
Strict | 61.958 | 41 | 0.998 | 0.025 [0.010, 0.037] | < .001 | 0.006 |
Group = depression status | ||||||
Configural | 42.116 | 11 | 0.995 | 0.048 [0.033,0.064] | – | – |
Weak | 44.812 | 15 | 0.996 | 0.040 [0.027, 0.054] | 0.001 | 0.008 |
Strong | 53.68 | 19 | 0.995 | 0.039 [0.027, 0.051] | 0.001 | 0.001 |
Strict | 62.533 | 23 | 0.994 | 0.037 [0.026, 0.049] | 0.001 | 0.002 |
Construct validity
Measure | PHQ-2 | FLZ-8 | BHS | Suicide attempt | Death wish | BSS-Screen |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total sample | ||||||
BSS-Screen score | .33***
| −.27***
| .36***
| .35***
| .35***
| – |
Risk group | ||||||
BSS-Screen score | .26**
| −.25**
| .23*
| .27**
| .32**
| – |
Total BSS score | .31**
| −.29**
| .25**
| .53***
| .53***
| .80***
|