title: Development of the reasons for living inventory for young adults.
abstract: Assessment of the reliability, validity, and predictive power of a new measure, the Reasons for Living Inventory for Young Adults (RFL-YA) is described. A series of three studies was conducted at two Midwestern universities to develop initial items for this new measure, refine item selection, and demonstrate the psychometric properties of the RFL-YA. The theoretical differences between the RFL-YA and the College Student Reasons for Living Inventory (CS-RFL) are discussed. Although the two measures were not directly compared, it appears that the RFL-YA has greater specificity for exploring aspects of the protective construct and may be more parsimonious than the CS-RFL. Principal-axis factor analysis yielded a five-factor solution for the RFL-YA accounting for 61.5% of the variance. This five-factor oblique model was confirmed in the final phase of investigation. Alpha estimates for the five subscales ranged from.89 to.94. Concurrent, convergent-discriminant, and criterion validity also were demonstrated. The importance of assessing protective factors in addition to negative risk factors for suicidality is discussed. Directions for future research with the RFL-YA also are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, Dekalb 60115-2892, USA. pgut@niu.edu
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Gutierrez
authors.forename: Augustine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Osman
authors.forename: Francisco X
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Barrios
authors.forename: Beverly A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Kopper
authors.forename: Monty T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Cheryl M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Haraburda
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D012649:Self Concept; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D000092864:Suicide Prevention