The Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R):Validation with Clinical and Nonclinical Samples

Past suicidal behaviors including ideation and attempts have been identified as significant risk factors for subsequent suicidal behavior. However, inadequate attention has been given to the development or validation of measures of past suicidal behavior. The present study examined the reliability and validity of a brief self-report measure of past suicidal behavior, the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R). Participants included psychiatric inpatient adolescents, high school students, psychiatric inpatient adults, and undergraduates. Logistic regression analyses provided empirical support for the usefulness of the SBQ-R as a risk measure of suicide to differentiate between suicide-risk and nonsuicidal study participants. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses indicated that the most useful cutoff scores on the SBQ-R were 7 for nonsuicidal samples, and 8 for clinical samples. Both the single SBQ-R Item 1 and SBQ-R total scores are recommended for use in clinical and nonclinical settings.

[1]  M. Linehan,et al.  Reasons for staying alive when you are thinking of killing yourself: the reasons for living inventory. , 1983, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[2]  L. Range,et al.  Psychometric properties of the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire. , 1995, Death studies.

[3]  Marsha M. Linehan,et al.  Assessment of suicide ideation and parasuicide , 1981 .

[4]  T. Joiner,et al.  Agreement between self- and clinician-rated suicidal symptoms in a clinical sample of young adults: explaining discrepancies. , 1999, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[5]  L. Morey,et al.  Operating Characteristics of Six Response Distortion Indicators for the Personality Assessment Inventory , 1998, Assessment.

[6]  T. Simon,et al.  Suicide planning among high school students who report attempting suicide. , 2000, Suicide & life-threatening behavior.

[7]  A. Osman,et al.  The Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale: psychometric characteristics in an American sample. , 1993, Journal of clinical psychology.

[8]  M. Rudd,et al.  The prevalence of suicidal ideation among college students. , 1989, Suicide & life-threatening behavior.

[9]  D. Cole.  Validation of the reasons for living inventory in general and delinquent adolescent samples , 1989, Journal of abnormal child psychology.

[10]  N. Brener,et al.  Suicidal ideation among college students in the United States. , 1999, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[11]  L. Range,et al.  Suicidality, hopelessness, and attitudes toward life and death in clinical and nonclinical adolescents. , 1996, Death studies.

[12]  Douglas Mossman,et al.  Assessing predictions of violence: being accurate about accuracy. , 1994, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[13]  P W O'Carroll,et al.  Beyond the Tower of Babel: a nomenclature for suicidology. , 1996, Suicide & life-threatening behavior.

[14]  R. Bagby,et al.  Utility of MMPI-2 Indicators of Response Distortion: Receiver Operating Characteristic Analysis. , 1997 .

[15]  M. Baker,et al.  Development of the reasons for living inventory for young adults. , 2002, Journal of clinical psychology.

[16]  M. Linehan,et al.  Assessment of suicide ideation and parasuicide: hopelessness and social desirability. , 1981, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[17]  D Lester,et al.  The measurement of pessimism: the hopelessness scale. , 1974, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[18]  M. Linehan,et al.  The brief Reasons for Living Inventory for adolescents (BRFL-A) , 1996, Journal of abnormal child psychology.

[19]  A. Osman,et al.  Suicide risk assessment in a college student population. , 2000 .

[20]  M. Fava,et al.  Dysfunctional attitudes and poor problem solving skills predict hopelessness in major depression. , 1999, Journal of affective disorders.

[21]  R A Steer,et al.  Suicide ideation at its worst point: a predictor of eventual suicide in psychiatric outpatients. , 1999, Suicide & life-threatening behavior.

[22]  L. Range,et al.  Twenty suicide assessment instruments: evaluation and recommendations. , 1997, Death studies.

[23]  P. Lewinsohn,et al.  Adolescent Suicidal Ideation and Attempts: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Clinical Implications , 1996 .

[24]  W. Sanderson,et al.  Suicide assessment: clinical interview vs. self-report. , 1994, Journal of clinical psychology.

[25]  J. Meininger,et al.  Psychometric properties of the neurobehavioral cognitive status exam , 1994 .

[26]  N. Alessi,et al.  Comparison of self-rated and clinician-rated measures of depression in adolescents. , 1990, The American journal of psychiatry.

[27]  A. Wells,et al.  The prediction of parasuicide repetition in a high-risk group. , 1999, The British journal of clinical psychology.

[28]  D. Cole,et al.  Hopelessness, social desirability, depression, and parasuicide in two college student samples. , 1988, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.