Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Revenge Attitudes Inventory-21.

Abstract

Despite a few hypothesized associations between revenge and suicide in the suicide literature, the potential of revenge as a multidimensional construct related to suicide has remained unexplored. Using data from undergraduate samples across 2 studies, we examined support for the psychometric properties and nomological network of scores on the Multidimensional Revenge Attitudes Inventory-21 (MRAI-21), a new self-report instrument composed of 3 dimensions: craving for revenge, revenge rumination, and suicide-related revenge. Results from Study 1 (N = 510), suggested that a 3-factor oblique solution obtained through contemporary factor analytic methods provided the best fit for the sample data. Estimates of internal consistency reliability for the MRAI-21 scale scores were above .90. In Study 2 (N = 380), we examined internal consistency reliability estimates for 6 concurrent self-report measures and conducted convergent validity analyses using latent variable modeling with scores on the MRAI-21 and concurrent measures. Results showed that scores on all instruments had adequate estimates of reliability and revealed a unique network of correlates for each of the MRAI-21 scale scores. Findings suggest that revenge can be measured as a multidimensional construct within the context of suicide; future directions and clinical implications are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).