Design and Validation: A scale for the Risk of Suicide (ERS) in Colombian Adolescents

Abstract

This study aims to construct and validate a scale for the assessment of suicide risk in adolescents. Initial items were prepared based on bibliographical review and were subject to expert evaluation with the objective of analyzing theoretical and linguistic aspects. 537 adolescents between 13 and 18 years old with a mean of 15.2 (SD = 1.1), 268 being male (49.9%) and 269 (50.1%) being womenfemale were sampled. The internal consistency of the instrument was .934, the scales showed Cronbach's alphas between 0.71 and 0.929, it was applied from Mcdonald's Omega with the use of software R and the results were very similar. Exploratory factorial analysis was made VARIMAX method and confirmatory factorial analysis was determined with the use of the statistical program masters. The items analysis, correlation, and effects of floor and ceiling, and showed correlations between 0.411** and 0.784** with a global score. The items correlations fluctuated between 0.71 and 0.908****. In conclusion, the instrument shows to be a valid and reliable measure for suicide risk in an adolescent assessment tool.