title: A psychometric investigation of the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire.
abstract: The factor structure of the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire (SOQ) was investigated in 2 studies. In the first study, the SOQ was administered to 568 participants to investigate the relative strength of 3 competing latent structure models previously identified in the literature. Confirmatory factor analyses provided no support for any of the prior models. An exploratory factor analysis of these data resulted in a weak 2-factor structure accounting for only 15.33% of the common variance. In the second study, this 2-factor structure was evaluated using SOQ data from 288 college students. Confirmatory factor analysis results failed to support the 2-factor model. Based on these results, the authors recommend that future research efforts should focus on developing a more contemporary and psychometrically sound measure of attitudes toward suicide.
authors.affiliation: University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Amy L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lester
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Rogers
mesh_terms: D001293:Attitude to Death; D006801:Humans; D011594:Psychometrics; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States