Validation of the Beck Hopelessness Scale in patients with suicide risk

Introduction: Only a few scales have been validated in Spanish for the assessment of suicide risk, and none of them have achieved predictive validity. Objective: To determine the validity and reliability of the Beck Hopelessness Scale in patients with suicide risk attending the specialist clinic. Methods: The 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. Results: The 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, P <.001), number of suicide attempts (Spearman.25, P <.001), severity of suicide risk (Spearman.23, P <.001). The correlation with the reasons for living inventory was negative (Spearman –.52, P <.001). With a cut-off ≥ 12, the negative predictive value was 98.4% (95% CI: 94.2-99.8), and the positive predictive value was 14.8% (95% CI: 6.6-27.1). Conclusion: The Beck Hopelessness Scale in Colombian patients with suicidality shows results similar to the original version, with adequate reliability and moderate concurrent and predictive validity.