Beverly A. Kopper

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.

The Pain Catastrophizing Scale: Further Psychometric Evaluation with Adult Samples

Previous studies with undergraduates have provided support for the reliability and oblique three-factor structure of a new scale, the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS). We examined the reliability and validity of the PCS in adult community and pain outpatient samples. The PCS showed a high internal consistency in both groups. Using data from the community sample, confirmatory factor analyses showed that the PCS taps a single construct characterized by three related dimensions. Gender differences were obtained on the PCS total score in the community and the outpatient samples. The analyses also showed significant differences between the community and the outpatient samples on the PCS total and subscales. Overall, the results showed strong evidence of criterion-related, concurrent, and discriminant validity for the PCS in the community sample. Limitations of the present study are discussed.

The Beck Anxiety Inventory: Reexamination of factor structure and psychometric properties

Several exploratory factor-analytic studies of the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; Beck, Epstein, Brown, & Steer, 1988) have reported two, four, and five factors. This study evaluated the fit of four competing models to data provided by a sample of 350 undergraduates. Results of the initial confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) provided strong support for the fit of the four-factor oblique model. Next, we respecified the four-factor model as a single second-order BAI. Results showed that the second-order model also provided adequate fit to the data. Evidence also supported the psychometric indices of reliability and convergent validity. Finally, we examined the relation of the BAI to several demographic variables. Limitations of the study are discussed.

Reliability and validity of the Beck depression inventory--II with adolescent psychiatric inpatients.

This investigation was conducted to validate the Beck Depression Inventory--II (BDI-II; A. T. Beck, R. A. Steer, & G. K. Brown, 1996) in samples of adolescent psychiatric inpatients. The sample in each substudy was primarily Caucasian. In Study 1, expert raters (N=7) and adolescent psychiatric inpatients (N=13) evaluated the BDI-II items to assess content validity. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analyses of several first-order solutions failed to provide adequate fit estimates to data for 205 boys, 203 girls, and the combined sample. Exploratory factor analyses identified new item-factor solutions. Reliability estimates were good (range =.72 to.91) for the BDI-II total and scale scores. In Study 3 (N=161 boys and 158 girls from Study 2), preliminary evidence for estimates of concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity were established for the BDI-II.

Factor structure and psychometric characteristics of the beck depression inventory-II

The present study evaluated the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) in the nonclinical sample of 230 young adults. The BDI-II is a revised version of the BDI-IA. We evaluated the fit of three alternative models to the sample data, using confirmatory factor analysis. Results provided support for the fit of the oblique three-factor model. The BDI-II and factor scales had satisfactory coefficient alpha indices. We obtained gender differences on the BDI-II item, total, and factor scale scores. We examined the relations of the BDI-II with demographic variables and with other self-report measures of social desirability, anxiety, depression, stress, and self-esteem. We also examined the issue of whether specific self-report measures of anxiety and depression assess separate or different constructs. We discuss the limitations of the present study.

Development and Initial Validation of the Self-Harm Behavior Questionnaire

Evaluation of suicide-related behaviors and thoughts about suicide with a newly developed self-report instrument is described. The Self-Harm Behavior Questionnaire (SHBQ; Gutierrez, 1998) generates detailed clinical information from an easy to administer and score self-report form. A sample of 342 participants were drawn from university undergraduate students enrolled in various psychology courses. Participants were then divided into a severe suicidal ideation group (n = 20) and a nonsuicidal control group (n = 20) to conduct subgroup and criterion-related validity analyses. Preliminary analyses indicate this new questionnaire is both valid and reliable when used with young adults drawn from a nonclinical population. The questionnaire should be of use to both clinicians and researchers due to the flexibility of the data generated.

The Social Phobia and Social Interaction Anxiety Scales: Evaluation of Psychometric Properties

The present investigations examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of two new self-report measures of social phobia, the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and the Social Phobia Scale (SPS). A confirmatory factor analysis in Study I provided support for the fit of a two-factor model of the SIAS and SPS. Internal consistency estimates were high for the original two scales with a sample of 200 undergraduates. Also, using an item parceling procedure, the obtained internal consistency reliability indices for each parcel were acceptable. Results of the CFA in Study II provided support for the factorial stability of the model identified in Study I. Furthermore, multisample analyses showed invariant patterns for factor loadings and factor correlations across 138 men and 272 women. Gender differences were not observed in the mean SIAS and SPS scale and item scores. Both scales correlated negatively and significantly with measures of social desirability. Concurrent validity was established for the scales. The SPS was less specific than the SIAS to symptoms of social phobia.

Validation of the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire and the Reasons for Living Inventory in an adult psychiatric inpatient sample

This study investigated the factor structure of the Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire (ASIQ) and the Linehan Reasons for Living Inventory (LRFL) in a sample of 205 adult psychiatric inpatients. Confirmatory factor analyses provided moderate support for the construct validity of each instrument. Coefficient alphas for the ASIQ (.98) and LRFL (.93) were high. In addition, a range of different clinical cutoff points was derived for each instrument. Both instruments were also better than chance in differentiating between the suicide attempter and psychiartic control groups. High ASIQ and low LRFL scores were significantly associated with scores on selected Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Content scales. The analyses also indicated that only the ASIQ added to the symptoms of hopelessness and negative affect in differentiating between the suicide attempter and psychiatric control groups. Results suggest that both instruments may be useful screening tests for suicidal behavior in psychiatric long-term care inpatient samples.

The experience and expression of anger: Relationships with gender, gender role socialization, depression, and mental health functioning.

Using a sample of 445 female and 260 male college students, we investigated relationships between the experience and expression of anger and gender, gender role characteristics, and several mental health variables. Factor analyses of 17 measures of anger, aggressiveness, and hostility revealed a 3-f

The reasons for living inventory for adolescents (RFL-A): Development and psychometric properties

The role of adaptive beliefs and attitudes against suicide has not been given adequate attention in the clinical or assessment literature. This article reports on the development and initial psychometric properties of a 32-item self-report inventory, the Reasons for Living Inventory for Adolescents (RFL-A). In Phase 1, we used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to identify five correlated factors: Future Optimism, Suicide-Related Concerns, Family Alliance, Peer Acceptance and Support, and Self-Acceptance. In Phase 2, we cross-validated the 5-factor oblique model in a different group of adolescents recruited from two high schools. In addition, we examined evidence for convergent, discriminant, and construct validities. The coefficient alpha indices for the RFL-A total and scales were satisfactory. In Phase 3, we evaluated additional evidence of reliability and validity using samples of high school and psychiatric inpatient adolescents. The results suggest that the RFL-A is a short, reliable, and valid measure that is potentially useful in the assessment of adolescent suicidal behavior.