The Self-Injury Questionnaire: evaluation of the psychometric properties in a clinical population
Corresponding Author
E. E. SANTA MINA rn ba baan msc phd
Associate Professor, School of Nursing, Ryerson University,
E. Santa Mina POD 460 D School of Nursing Ryerson University 350 Victoria Street Toronto, Ont. Canada M5B 2K3 E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorR. GALLOP rn phd
Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto,
Search for more papers by this authorP. LINKS msc md frcp
Deputy Chief of Psychiatry, Arthur Sommer Rotenberg, Chair in Suicide Studies, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Toronto,
Search for more papers by this authorR. HESLEGRAVE phd
Chair Research Ethics Board, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University Health Network, Toronto,
Search for more papers by this authorD. PRINGLE rn phd
Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto,
Search for more papers by this authorC. WEKERLE phd
Associate Professor, Education, Psychology, Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, and
Search for more papers by this authorP. GREWAL msc
Research Coordinator, School of Social Work Columbia University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
E. E. SANTA MINA rn ba baan msc phd
Associate Professor, School of Nursing, Ryerson University,
E. Santa Mina POD 460 D School of Nursing Ryerson University 350 Victoria Street Toronto, Ont. Canada M5B 2K3 E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorR. GALLOP rn phd
Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto,
Search for more papers by this authorP. LINKS msc md frcp
Deputy Chief of Psychiatry, Arthur Sommer Rotenberg, Chair in Suicide Studies, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Toronto,
Search for more papers by this authorR. HESLEGRAVE phd
Chair Research Ethics Board, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University Health Network, Toronto,
Search for more papers by this authorD. PRINGLE rn phd
Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto,
Search for more papers by this authorC. WEKERLE phd
Associate Professor, Education, Psychology, Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, and
Search for more papers by this authorP. GREWAL msc
Research Coordinator, School of Social Work Columbia University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
This paper presents the findings, from a clinical study, on the reliability and validity of a new measure for intentions in self-harm behaviour, the Self-Injury Questionnaire (SIQ). Eighty-three patients, who had presented to an emergency department with an episode of self-harm/suicidal behaviour, were given the SIQ as part of a battery of measures to evaluate differentiation in self-harm intentions based upon a history of childhood physical and/or sexual abuse. The internal consistency for the total scale was strong (α = 0.83). Construct validity demonstrated significant correlations with standardized measures. A principle component analysis of responses yielded a five-factor solution with ‘affect regulation’ items loading on the first factor. Cronbach's alphas were adequate for each subscale (α = 0.72–0.77). These preliminary findings indicate that the SIQ is a valid and reliable measure for research in an acute self-harming population.
References
- Alexander L. (1999) The functions of self-injury and its link to traumatic events in college students. UMI Dissertation, Services 9932285.
- Arnold L. (1995) Women and Self-injury: A Survey of 76 Women. The Mental Health Foundation, Bristol Crisis Service for Women, Bristol.
- Beautrais A.L. (2001) Suicides and serious suicide attempts: two populations or one? Psychological Medicine 31, 837–845.
- Beck A.T. & Lester D. (1976) Components of suicidal intent in completed and attempted suicides. Journal of Psychology 95, 35–38.
- Beck A.T., Steer R.A. & Garbin M.G. (1988) Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: twenty-five years of evaluation. Clinical Psychology Review 8, 77–100.
- Beck A.T., Weissman A., Lester D. & Trexler L. (1974) The measurement of pessimism: the Hopelessness Scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 42, 861–865.
- Bernstein Carlson B.E. & Putnam F.W. (1993) An update on the Dissociative Experiences Scale. Dissociation 6, 16–29.
- Brown M.Z., Comtois K.A. & Linehan M.M. (2002) Reasons for suicide attempts and non suicidal self-injury in women with Borderline Personality Disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 11, 198–202.
- Connors R. (1996) Self-injury in trauma survivors: 1. Functions and meanings. American Orthopsychiatric Association 66, 197–206.
- Dyer J.A. & Kreitman N. (1980) Hopelessness, depression and suicidal intent in parasuicide. British Journal of Psychiatry 144, 127–133.
- Elliot D.M. & Briere J. (1992) Sexual abuse trauma among professional women: validating the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40. Child Abuse and Neglect 16, 391–398.
- Evans J., Platt H. & Liebenau A. (1996) Impulsiveness and deliberate self-harm: a comparison of ‘first-timers’ and ‘repeaters’. ACTA Psychiatric Scandinavia 93, 378–380.
- Favazza A.R. & Conterio K. (1988) The plight of chronic self-mutilators. Community Mental Health Journal 24, 22–30.
- Fuse T. (1997) Theories of suicide. In: Suicide, Individual and Society/Toyo masa Fuse, pp. 75–163. Canadian Scholars’ Press, Toronto.
- Haw C., Hawton K., Houston K. & Townsend E. (2003) Correlates of relative lethality and suicidal intent among deliberate self-harm patients. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior 33, 353–364.
- Hawton K., Arenson E., Twonsend E., Bremner S., Feldman E., Goldney R., Gunnell D., Hazell R., Van Heeringen K., House A., Owens D., Safinofsky I. & Traskman-Bendz L. (1998) Deliberate self-harm: systematic review of efficacy of psychosocial and pharmacological treatments in preventing repetition. British Medical Journal 317, 441–447.
- Hawton K., Fagg J., Simkin S., Bale E. & Bond A. (1997) Trends in deliberate self-harm in Oxford, 1985–1995. British Journal of Psychiatry 171, 556–560.
- Holden R. & McLeod L.D. (2000) The structure of the Reasons for Attempting Suicide Questionnaire (RASQ) in a nonclinical adult population. Personality and Individual Differences 29, 621–628.
- Van Der Kolk B.A. (1994) The body keeps the score: memory and the evolving psychobiology of posttraumatic stress. Harvard Review Psychiatry 1, 253–265.
- Van Der Kolk B.A., Pelcovitz D., Roth S., Mandel F.S., McFarlane A. & Herman J.L. (1996) Dissociation, somatization, and affect dysregulation: the complexity of adaptation to trauma. American Journal of Psychiatry 153, 83–93.
- Langlois S. & Morrison P. (2002) Suicide deaths and suicide attempts. Health Reports 13, 9–22.
- Lester D. (1994) Research note: a comparison of 15 theories of suicide. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior 24, 80–88.
- Linehan M.M. (1986) Suicidal people: one population or two? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 487, 16–33.
- National Center for Health Statistics (2004) Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/suicide.htm (accessed 4 July 2005).
- Potter L.B., Kresnow M., Powell K.E., O'Carroll P.W., Lee R.K., Frankowski R., Swann A., Bayer T., Bautista M. & Briscoe M. (1998) Identification of nearly fatal suicide attempts: Self Inflicted Injury Severity Form. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior 28, 174–186.
- Redley M. (2003) Towards a new perspective on deliberate self-harm in an area of multiple deprivation. Sociology of Health and Illness 25, 348–373.
- Stanley B., Gameroff M., Michalsen V. & Mann J. (2001) Are suicide attempters who self mutilate a unique population? American Journal of Psychiatry 158, 427–432.
- Statistics Canada (2004) Available at: http://www.statcan.ca (accessed 12 September 2004).
- UK National Statistics (2004) Available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget (accessed 4 July 2005).
- Wekerle C. & Wolfe D.A. (2003) Childhood maltreatment. In: Childhood Psychopathology, edition 2nd edn (eds E.J. Mash & R.A. Barkley), pp. 632–686. Guilford, New York.
Citing Literature
