Dimensions of suicidal ideation in psychiatric inpatients

The computer-assisted version of the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSI; Beck, Steer & Ranieri, Journal of Clinical Psychology, 44, 499-505, 1988) was administered to 330 psychiatric inpatients diagnosed with mixed disorders. The BSI is a 19-item self-report instrument for measuring the intensity, duration and specificity of a patient's thoughts and plans about committing suicide. Of the 330 inpatients, 115 (34.8%) were classified as suicide ideators according to the BSI. Controlling for gender, a maximum-likelihood principal factor analysis of the partial intercorrelation matrix among the ideators' BSI items was conducted using an oblique rotation. Three factors were found that reflected Desire for Death, Preparation for Suicide and Active Suicidal Desire. The importance of assessing specific factors of suicidal ideation was discussed.