Additional support for the reliability and validity of the Modified Scale for Suicide Ideation.

Abstract

The Modified Scale for Suicide Ideation (MSSI; I. W. Miller, W. H. Norman, S. B. Bishop, & M. G. Dow, 1986) is a self-report measure used to assess suicidality. The present study was designed to provide additional assessment of the psychometric properties of the MSSI by (a) studying it in a severe and chronic sample of suicidal ideators (aged 18-24 years); (b) examining its stability and factor structure; and (c) comparing the MSSI with the Scale for Suicide Ideation (A. Beck, M. Kovacs, & A. Weissman, 1979), an interview-based measure of suicide ideation. The results provide additional data suggesting that the MSSI has satisfactory reliability and validity and that it can be used as a measure of suicide ideation with some confidence