Development and initial validation of the Response to Suicidal Ideation Inventory (RSII)

Introduction: Youth often report difficulties coping during suicide crises (Czyz et al., 2016). However, the responses that youth employ to manage suicidal ideation (SI) are underexplored. This study developed a new measure to quantify how youth with a history of suicidal thoughts and behaviours (STBs) respond to their SI, and conducted an initial evaluation of the measure’s psychometric properties. Methods: Using inductive and deductive approaches, we developed a preliminary item set (n = 79) for the Response to Suicide Ideation Inventory (RSII). Thereafter, 491 participants (Mage = 22.0, SDage = 3.3, 18-29 years old), completed the RSII, as well as questionnaires assessing the RSII’s content validity, general coping, emotion dysregulation, history of STBs, reasons for living, and future expectations of engaging in STBs. Results: Results from an exploratory factor analysis indicated that a 43-item, seven-factor solution was an appropriate fit to the data. The RSII and its subscales showed acceptable reliability, as well as preliminary content validity. The RSII’s subscales also demonstrated medium-sized positive correlations with measures of general coping, and weak associations with emotion dysregulation, suicide resilience, and expectations of future STBs. Conclusions: Our results point to some important directions for refining the RSII. Exploring the range and types of responses youth engage in to manage their SI may improve our understanding of, and ability to predict, fluctuations in SI severity.