Validation and psychometric properties of the German Capability for Suicide Questionnaire.
OBJECTIVE
Our study aimed at the validation of the newly developed German Capability for Suicide Questionnaire, the GCSQ. It is supposed to assess both fearlessness of death and pain tolerance, both facets of the acquired capability to commit suicide as postulated by the interpersonal theory of suicide.


METHODS
This cross-sectional study was conducted on two clinical (n=424) and an online sample (n=532). Factor structure, convergent and discriminant validity, predictive validity as well as test-retest reliability were investigated.


RESULTS
Two factors-"Fearlessness of Death" and "Pain Tolerance"-were derived. One item, the "perceived capability" item, assesses the subject's self-perception of acquired capability. Both subscales and the "perceived capability"-item demonstrate good construct validity and a high test-retest reliability. Fearlessness of death proves to be predictive for the occurrence of suicidal behaviors, whereas the importance of pain tolerance for suicidal behaviors was not confirmed. The subject's perception of his own capability is of high predictive value for both attempt status and suicidal behaviors.


CONCLUSIONS
The GCSQ seems to be a useful measure of pain tolerance, fearlessness of death and the self-perception of acquired capability of suicide.
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany. Electronic address: sarah.wachtel@rub.de.
Sarah
S
Wachtel
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Institute for Psychology, Universität Osnabrück, Germany.
Silja
S
Vocks
Department of Psychiatry, LWL University Hospital, Ruhr-Universität, Bochum, Germany.
Marc-Andreas
MA
Edel
St. Marien-Hospital Eickel, Herne, Germany.
Peter
P
Nyhuis
Department for Psychology and Psychotherapy, Universität Witten/Herdecke, Witten, Germany.
Ulrike
U
Willutzki
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.
Tobias
T
Teismann
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult