(PS13-57) The Suicidal Intent Inventory: A Pilot Psychometric Study

Suicide attempts (SAs) may be characterized by an intent to die ranging anywhere from low to high, or that is ambivalent. Yet, few studies have parsed this heterogeneity among SAs, in part due to a lack of validated measures assessing intent to die. Further, although wish to live and wish to die may intuitively seem negatively correlated, many individuals report ambivalence surrounding their wish to die from an SA. Accordingly, research should establish whether wish to live and wish to die may indeed show correlation among some individuals. The current pilot study presents psychometric properties of the Suicidal Intent Inventory (SII), a novel 14-item self-report measure that retrospectively assesses an individual’s intent to die during their most recent SA, rated on a scale of 0% to 100%. The SII was administered to adolescents (N=12) who were psychiatrically hospitalized following an SA. Two subscales were calculated based on a priori assumptions: wish to die (e.g., “How strong was your intent to kill yourself?”, “How much was your mind made up about killing yourself?”), and wish to live (e.g., “How much did you want to live?”, “How much did you hope someone or something would stop you before you tried to kill yourself?”). Additionally, an overall mean score was calculated, with items from the wish to live subscale reverse-coded. Internal consistency was excellent for the entire scale (α= 0.94), as well as for both subscales (α= 0.93 for each). Mean intent to die among the sample was moderate (M=58.07%, SD=23.65%).  There was a significant negative correlation between the two scales (r = -.63, t(10) = -2.57, p=.03), providing preliminary evidence that wish to live and wish to die from an SA are negatively correlated. To establish criterion validity, mean SII scores were compared with self-reported suicide ideation severity, as measured by the Passive and Active Suicide Ideation Scale (PASIS). Intent to die was significantly correlated with suicidal ideation severity (r=.67, t(10)=2.869, p=.02), suggesting that intent to die may be related to previously established markers of suicide risk. Finally, qualitative analyses of one free-response item assessing reasons for one’s reported suicidal intent revealed considerable variability among respondents’ desire to die from an SA. In summary, the SII shows preliminary validity as a novel measure of intent to die. Findings show that intent to die may be an important source of heterogeneity among SAs that should be studied as a potential marker of future suicide risk. Finally, further work should test the SII in larger samples to allow for more robust validation methods (e.g., exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis).