RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SUICIDE ASSESSMENT SCALE IN SINGLE-SESSION SUICIDE CRISIS INTERVENTION

The incidence of suicide, particularly among youth, is on the rise. Research has shown that single-session suicide interventions can effectively reduce suicide risk. The objective of this study was to develop a concise suicide assessment scale that incorporates both risk and protective factors, designed specifically for use in single-session interventions. A combination of item analysis, factor analysis, and characteristic curve analysis was employed to select 83 items from existing literature. These items were then subjected to a two-stage scale development process, including a pre-test and a formal test. The finalized scale, derived from a sample of 798 college students, consists of 30 items across four factors: suicidal behavior, depression, hopelessness, and reasons for living. The Cronbach's alpha for these factors ranged from 0.85 to 0.95. The criterion validity was found to be 0.77 (p < 0.01). ROC curve analysis determined the critical value of the scale to be 120 points, with scores of 120 or lower indicating a suicide risk, which can be further classified as mild, moderate, or severe. This suicide assessment scale is reliable, valid, easy to use, and has the ability to identify suicide risk.