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An Evaluation of the Psychache Scale on an Offender Population
Author(s) -
Mills Jeremy F.,
Green Kate,
Reddon John R.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1521/suli.2005.35.5.570
Subject(s) - generalizability theory , psychology , clinical psychology , population , scale (ratio) , depression (economics) , psychiatry , construct validity , psychometrics , medicine , developmental psychology , physics , environmental health , quantum mechanics , economics , macroeconomics
This study examined the generalizability of a self‐report measure of psychache to an offender population. The factor structure, construct validity, and criterion validity of the Psychache Scale was assessed on 136 male prison inmates. The results showed the Psychache Scale has a single underlying factor structure and to be strongly associated with measures of depression and hopelessness and moderately associated with psychiatric symptoms and the criterion variable of a history of prior suicide attempts. The variables of depression, hopelessness, and psychiatric symptoms all contributed unique variance to psychache. Discussion centers on psychache's theoretical application to the prediction of suicide.