Evaluating the Clinical Utility of the Interpersonal Hopelessness Scale Among Adults With Past-Year Suicide Ideation

The Interpersonal Hopelessness Scale (IHS) measures hopelessness about thwarted belongingness (TB) and perceived burdensomeness (PB) improving over time, which represent core components of the interpersonal theory of suicide. We aimed to evaluate IHS clinical utility by examining whether IHS total and subscale scores predicted both concurrent and short-term prospective suicidal desire.

US adults with past-year suicide ideation completed online self-report assessments at two time points, 1 week apart (Wave 1 [W1], n = 595; Wave 2 [W2], n = 200).

IHS total, TB, and PB scores were each significantly associated with the presence of concurrent suicidal desire and adequately discriminated between those with and without suicidal desire. Prospectively, all W1 IHS scores predicted W2 suicidal desire; however, area under the curve statistic values were lower than in concurrent models. When including both IHS subscales as simultaneous predictors, only IHS-PB remained a significant predictor of prospective suicidal desire. We present clinical cutoff scores and estimated probabilities of suicidal desire to support IHS score interpretation in applied settings.

These findings provide preliminary support for the IHS as a theory-informed and clinically meaningful tool for suicide risk assessment, with the potential to enhance case conceptualization and guide intervention planning.