Validation of the Beck Hopelessness Scale in patients with suicide risk.

IntroductionOnly a few scales have been validated in Spanish for the assessment of suicide risk, and none of them have achieved predictive validity.ObjectiveTo determine the validity and reliability of the Beck Hopelessness Scale in patients with suicide risk attending the specialist clinic.MethodsThe Beck Hopelessness Scale, reasons for living inventory, and the suicide behaviour questionnaire were applied in patients with suicide risk attending the psychiatric clinic and the emergency department. A new assessment was made 30 days later to determine the predictive validity of suicide or suicide attempt.ResultsThe evaluation included a total of 244 patients, with a mean age of 30.7±13.2 years, and the majority were women. The internal consistency was .9 (Kuder-Richardson formula 20). Four dimensions were found which accounted for 50% of the variance. It was positively correlated with the suicidal behaviour questionnaire (Spearman .48, PConclusionThe Beck Hopelessness Scale in Colombian patients with suicidality shows results similar to the original version, with adequate reliability and moderate concurrent and predictive validity.