Development of the Risk Assessment Suicidality Scale (RASS): a population-based study

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Public Health
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Suicide and suicide attempts represent significant public health challenges.
• Effective prevention strategies necessitate research into contributing factors using comprehensive assessment tools.
• Existing instruments often focus on clinical features, highlighting the need for a tool centered on suicide-related behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a self-report instrument for assessing suicidal risk.
• The instrument focuses on direct descriptions of suicide-related behavior.
• To provide a user-friendly tool for use in general population studies.

Main Methods:

• A 12-item self-report scale, the Risk Assessment Suicidality Scale (RASS), was developed.
• The scale was administered to 734 general population participants (40.6% male, 59.4% female, age 40.8±11.5).
• Concurrent administration of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was performed.

Main Results:

• Factor analysis identified three factors: Intention, Life, and History, explaining 59.19% of the variance.
• Internal consistency, measured by Cronbach's alpha, was 0.85 for Intention, 0.69 for Life, and 0.52 for History.
• A scoring method was established based on response frequencies for individual items.

Conclusions:

• The Risk Assessment Suicidality Scale (RASS) demonstrates reliability and validity.
• RASS is a valuable tool for assessing suicidal risk in both general and clinical populations.
• Further replication in clinical and epidemiological studies is recommended.