Validations of the Farsi versions of the depressive symptom inventory suicidality subscale (F-DSI-SS) and suicide rumination scale (F-SRS) among Iranian college students.

Abstract

Suicidal thoughts are relatively common among college students in Iran. However, measures frequently used to assess suicidality or specific aspects of suicidal ideation in the United States have yet to be validated in Iran. Thus, the present study validated Farsi versions of the Depressive Symptom Inventory Suicidality Subscale (F-DSI-SS) and Suicide Rumination Scale (F-SRS) among Iranian college students. College students (N= 1043; 88.1% women) completed the F-DSI-SS. Forty-six percent (n= 481) of participants reported the presence of suicidal thoughts and were eligible to fill out the F-SRS. Analyses focused on validating the factor structure, construct, and convergent validity of the F-DSI-SS and F-SRS among college students, as well as testing measurement invariance by gender of the F-DSI-SS. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that the F-DSI-SS and F-SRS had good fit to the data and each displayed a one-factor structure. Furthermore, the F-DSI-SS showed strong measurement invariance across genders. Internal consistency of the F-DSI-SS and F-SRS was good. Lastly, the F-DSI-SS and F-SRS's items and their total scores were intercorrelated and demonstrated good convergent validity. Findings suggest that the F-DSI-SS and F-SRS will enable researchers to examine suicidal thoughts and suicide-specific rumination in Iran.