Seyed Jamaleddin Asadabadi University
Abstract: (22 Views)
Background & Objectives: Suicide attempts are a major challenge in the field of mental health, and in many countries, especially among individuals aged 15 to 19 years, they are the second or third leading cause of death. In Iran, despite the lack of precise statistics due to cultural and social considerations, evidence suggests that this phenomenon, particularly among adolescents and young adults, has been increasing in recent years. This issue is particularly prominent in the western and southern provinces of the country, where there are social, economic, and psychological pressures. Approximately 60% of suicide attempts in Iran are made by adolescents and young adults, a group that is highly vulnerable due to physical, psychological, and social changes as well as academic pressures. One of the most important concepts in studying suicidal behaviors is "death intent," which determines the individual's severity and seriousness in wanting to end their life. This indicator can predict the likelihood of repeated suicide attempts and the methods used. Tools like the Beck Suicide Ideation Scale have been designed to assess death intent; however, these tools face cultural and linguistic challenges in non-Western societies. In Iran, there are no indigenous tools for measuring death intent, and research has mainly focused on the prevalence and risk factors. Therefore, the development and standardization of precise tools to assess death intent in Iran is essential. This study aims to assist in identifying high-risk individuals and preventing suicide by designing a culturally appropriate questionnaire to assess death intent in Iranian adolescents. This tool can be effective in designing targeted interventions and reducing suicide-related mortality in the country. Given the importance of this issue, the present study was conducted to develop and standardize a suicide with death intent questionnaire among adolescents.
Method: This research was conducted using a sequential exploratory mixed-methods approach and a tool development framework. The first phase of the study was qualitative and utilized a descriptive phenomenological method to identify the components of suicide attempts with death intent. Participants in this phase included 16 high school students from Hamadan who had attempted suicide in 2023 and were selected through purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with these participants. In the quantitative phase of the study, a descriptive-correlational method was used. The statistical population consisted of 408 high school students in Hamadan province who had been referred to counseling centers. Among them, 374 students (201 girls and 173 boys) were selected as the sample using convenience sampling. To collect data, the Suicide with Death Intent Questionnaire (SDIQ) was used, which consisted of 32 items based on a 5-point Likert scale. After performing exploratory factor analysis, the final questionnaire included 7 factors. Data analysis was carried out using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (KMO) in SPSS25.
Findings: After analyzing the qualitative data, 9 main themes were extracted: loneliness and isolation, choosing irreversible methods, reliable lethal tools, emotional detachment, lack of remorse for the decision, unwillingness to be saved, feelings of absolute despair, worthlessness and self-deprecation, and determination to end life. For factor analysis, the principal axis factoring (PAF) method and varimax rotation were used on the correlation matrix. The results indicated that the exploratory factor analysis revealed that the questionnaire with 32 items and 7 main factors reaches a simple structure. These 7 factors, after rotation, explained 67.37% of the total variance of the questionnaire (the first factor explained 14.13%, the second factor 13.65%, the third factor 12.07%, the fourth factor 8.53%, the fifth factor 6.89%, the sixth factor 6.66%, and the seventh factor 5.94% of the variance). Based on this, considering the 7 factors for the questionnaire, a simple structure can be achieved, with only 32.63% of the information lost. Therefore, it can be concluded that the aforementioned factors explain a significant portion of the variance in suicidal intent, which indicates the validity of the questionnaire. The convergent validity of the questionnaire was 0.541 with the Beck Suicide Ideation Scale, and its reliability coefficient was 0.898 using Cronbach's alpha, and 0.797 for test-retest reliability.
Conclusion: This study confirms that the Suicide with Death Intent Questionnaire (SDIQ) is a valid, accurate, and reliable tool for assessing suicidal tendencies in adolescents. The tool demonstrates high validity and reliability and has been able to effectively measure various dimensions of suicidal ideation. The seven factors extracted from this questionnaire cover different aspects of suicidal tendencies, providing strong evidence of the tool's validity and reliability. This instrument can be used in various settings, including scientific research, educational programs, and therapeutic interventions, as a practical tool for identifying individuals at risk of suicide and designing targeted interventions. The questionnaire can play a key role in the early identification of individuals at risk of suicide and prevention efforts, and in therapeutic interventions, it can serve as an effective tool for assessing and tracking changes in suicidal ideation. Finally, future research can further develop and strengthen this tool by using it in different populations and analyzing its relationship with various psychological variables, thus contributing to reducing suicidal tendencies in adolescents.
Method: This research was conducted using a sequential exploratory mixed-methods approach and a tool development framework. The first phase of the study was qualitative and utilized a descriptive phenomenological method to identify the components of suicide attempts with death intent. Participants in this phase included 16 high school students from Hamadan who had attempted suicide in 2023 and were selected through purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with these participants. In the quantitative phase of the study, a descriptive-correlational method was used. The statistical population consisted of 408 high school students in Hamadan province who had been referred to counseling centers. Among them, 374 students (201 girls and 173 boys) were selected as the sample using convenience sampling. To collect data, the Suicide with Death Intent Questionnaire (SDIQ) was used, which consisted of 32 items based on a 5-point Likert scale. After performing exploratory factor analysis, the final questionnaire included 7 factors. Data analysis was carried out using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (KMO) in SPSS25.
Findings: After analyzing the qualitative data, 9 main themes were extracted: loneliness and isolation, choosing irreversible methods, reliable lethal tools, emotional detachment, lack of remorse for the decision, unwillingness to be saved, feelings of absolute despair, worthlessness and self-deprecation, and determination to end life. For factor analysis, the principal axis factoring (PAF) method and varimax rotation were used on the correlation matrix. The results indicated that the exploratory factor analysis revealed that the questionnaire with 32 items and 7 main factors reaches a simple structure. These 7 factors, after rotation, explained 67.37% of the total variance of the questionnaire (the first factor explained 14.13%, the second factor 13.65%, the third factor 12.07%, the fourth factor 8.53%, the fifth factor 6.89%, the sixth factor 6.66%, and the seventh factor 5.94% of the variance). Based on this, considering the 7 factors for the questionnaire, a simple structure can be achieved, with only 32.63% of the information lost. Therefore, it can be concluded that the aforementioned factors explain a significant portion of the variance in suicidal intent, which indicates the validity of the questionnaire. The convergent validity of the questionnaire was 0.541 with the Beck Suicide Ideation Scale, and its reliability coefficient was 0.898 using Cronbach's alpha, and 0.797 for test-retest reliability.
Conclusion: This study confirms that the Suicide with Death Intent Questionnaire (SDIQ) is a valid, accurate, and reliable tool for assessing suicidal tendencies in adolescents. The tool demonstrates high validity and reliability and has been able to effectively measure various dimensions of suicidal ideation. The seven factors extracted from this questionnaire cover different aspects of suicidal tendencies, providing strong evidence of the tool's validity and reliability. This instrument can be used in various settings, including scientific research, educational programs, and therapeutic interventions, as a practical tool for identifying individuals at risk of suicide and designing targeted interventions. The questionnaire can play a key role in the early identification of individuals at risk of suicide and prevention efforts, and in therapeutic interventions, it can serve as an effective tool for assessing and tracking changes in suicidal ideation. Finally, future research can further develop and strengthen this tool by using it in different populations and analyzing its relationship with various psychological variables, thus contributing to reducing suicidal tendencies in adolescents.
Type of Study: Original Research Article |
Subject:
Social Sciences
Send email to the article author
| Rights and permissions | |
 |
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
