Three assessment tools for deliberate self-harm and suicide behavior: evaluation and psychopathological correlates.
OBJECTIVE
The aims of this study are to adapt two validated self-report questionnaires of deliberate self-harm and suicidal behavior to German, to investigate their psychometric properties and agreement with clinician-administered ratings, and to examine their psychopathological correlates.


METHODS
The Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory [Gratz KL. Measurement of deliberate self-harm: preliminary data on the deliberate self-harm inventory. J Psychopathol Behav 2001;23:253-263] and the Self-Harm Behavior Questionnaire [Guttierez PM, Osman A, Barrios FX, Kopper BA. Development and initial validation of the self-harm behavior questionnaire. J Pers Assess 2001;77:475-490] were completed by 361 patients hospitalized for depressive, anxiety, adjustment, somatoform, and/or eating disorders. A clinician-administered rating scale of self-destructive behavior was included. Psychopathological variables were assessed by standardized questionnaires.


RESULTS
The self-report questionnaires demonstrated good reliability (alpha=.81-.96, split-half r=.78-.98, test-retest r=.65-.91). Reliability of the clinician-administered ratings was acceptable (interrater kappa=.46-.77, test-retest kappa=.35-.48). Intraclass correlations (ICC=.68) for all three instruments were satisfactory. Rates of self-harm and associations between self-harm and suicidal behaviors are reported. The findings support the hypotheses of a higher degree of psychiatric symptomatology in patients with self-harm behavior compared to those without.


CONCLUSIONS
The two questionnaire adaptations are reliable and valid self-report scales for the assessment of self-harm and past suicidal behavior.
Fliege
Herbert
H
Division of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Center for Internal Medicine, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. herbert.fliege@charite.de
Kocalevent
Rueya-Daniela
RD
Walter
Otto B
OB
Beck
Stefanie
S
Gratz
Kim L
KL
Gutierrez
Peter M
PM
Klapp
Burghard F
BF
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015897:Comorbidity; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires