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BMC Psychiatry
Published in: BMC Psychiatry 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

German Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS): psychometric properties from a representative population survey

Authors: Sören Kliem, Anna Lohmann, Thomas Mößle, Elmar Brähler

Published in: BMC Psychiatry | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Background

Suicidal ideation has been identified as one of the major predictors of attempted or actual suicide. Routinely screening individuals for endorsing suicidal thoughts could save lives and protect many from severe psychological consequences following the suicide of loved ones. The aim of this study was to validate the German version of the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS) in a sample representative for the Federal Republic of Germany.

Methods

All 2450 participants completed the first part of the Scale, the BSS-Screen. A risk group of n = 112 individuals (4.6%) with active or passive suicidal ideation was identified and subsequently completed the entire BSS.

Results

Satisfactory internal reliability (α = .97 for the BSS-Screen; α = .94 for the entire BSS) and excellent model fit indices for the one-dimensional factorial structure of the BSS-Screen (CFI = .998; TLI = .995; RMSEA = .045 [95%-CI: .030-.061]) were confirmed. Measurement invariance analyses supported strict invariance across gender, age, and depression status. We found correlations with related self-report measures in expected directions comparable to previous studies, indicating satisfactory construct validity.

Limitations

Our study involved cross sectional data, hence neither predictive validity nor retest-reliability were examined. As only the risk group of n = 112 individuals completed the entire measure, confirmatory factor analyses could not be conducted for the full BSS.

Conclusion

The German translation of the BSS is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing suicidal ideation in the general population. Using it as a screening device in general and specialized medical care could substantially advance suicide prevention.
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Metadata
Title
German Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS): psychometric properties from a representative population survey
Authors
Sören Kliem
Anna Lohmann
Thomas Mößle
Elmar Brähler
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Psychiatry / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1471-244X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-017-1559-9

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