Development of the reasons for living inventory for young adults

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. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 58: 339–357, 2002.