Validation of a 9-item Perceived Suicide Awareness Scale (PSAS-9) for adolescents

Introduction Robust empirical data on suicide awareness are needed, to better plan and evaluate suicide prevention interventions. However, there is a lack of validated measures of suicide awareness. This is especially true for perceived suicide awareness, which focuses on perceived knowledge about suicide, willingness, and confidence to talk about suicide and get help. This study aimed to validate a measure of perceived suicide awareness. Methods We re-used data from a suicide prevention trial conducted in Swiss secondary schools (n=366). Baseline and one-month follow-up data were used to validate the scale. The main measure was an initial 14-item perceived suicide awareness scale (PSAS). Perceived knowledge of help-seeking resources, suicide-related knowledge, and support networks were used to assess convergent validity. Results A nine-item version, the PSAS-9, showed satisfactory psychometric properties, including high internal consistency (α=.78), acceptable test-retest (r=.68), and a one-factor structure explaining 95% of the variance. The convergent validity was acceptable (.19≤r≤.40). The PSAS-9 was not correlated with suicide-related knowledge (r=.02). Conclusion This study was an important step towards validating a perceived suicide awareness scale, distinct from suicide-related knowledge, to be used in future studies focused on suicide prevention, and, more generally, studies interested in measuring suicide awareness.