Psychometric Evaluation of Sinhala and Tamil Measures of Suicidal Behavior and Interpersonal Suicide Risk Constructs in Sri Lanka.
5 affiliations
- 1Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka.
- 2Dept. of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Western Province, Sri Lanka.
- 3Dept. of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Central Province, Sri Lanka.
- 4Teaching Hospital Batticaloa, Batticaloa, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.
- 5Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.
Abstract
Background
Valid and culturally appropriate instruments are essential for suicide research and risk screening. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Sinhala and Tamil versions of the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-10 (INQ-10), and Acquired Capability for Suicide Scale-Fearlessness About Death (ACSS-FAD), which assess constructs of the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS).Methods
In this cross-sectional study, 551 university students (409 Sinhala-speaking, 142 Tamil-speaking) and 98 patients presenting with self-harm completed the measures. Structural validity, reliability, convergent validity, known-group validity, measurement invariance, and receiver operating characteristic analyses were performed.Results
The SBQ-R demonstrated a unidimensional structure, good internal consistency (ordinal α = 0.86-0.92), language and gender invariance, and satisfactory convergent and known-group validity. The original seven-item ACSS-FAD performed poorly, whereas a four-item version demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties. INQ-10 did not support the hypothesized two-factor structure, with relatively better support for a bifactor model. The SBQ-R discriminated between students and patients presenting with self-harm (AUC = 0.716, 95% CI = 0.656-0.777), with improved discrimination among patients reporting suicidal intent (AUC = 0.876, 95% CI = 0.820-0.931). The established cut-off of ≥7 was supported.Conclusions
The Sinhala and Tamil SBQ-R demonstrated good psychometric properties and are suitable for suicide research and risk screening in Sri Lanka. The four-item ACSS-FAD appears preferable to the original version, whereas INQ-10 subscale scores should be interpreted cautiously. These findings support further research on suicidal behavior and evaluation of IPTS-based hypotheses in clinical and community populations in Sri Lanka.
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BibTeX
@article{baminiwatta2026psychometric,
title = {{Psychometric Evaluation of Sinhala and Tamil Measures of Suicidal Behavior and Interpersonal Suicide Risk Constructs in Sri Lanka.}},
author = {Anuradha Baminiwatta and Shehan Williams and Thilini Rajapakse and Thanabalasingam Gadambanathan and Jo Robinson},
journal = {Indian journal of psychological medicine},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1177/02537176261497543},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42928735},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Psychometric Evaluation of Sinhala and Tamil Measures of Suicidal Behavior and Interpersonal Suicide Risk Constructs in Sri Lanka.
AU - Anuradha Baminiwatta
AU - Shehan Williams
AU - Thilini Rajapakse
AU - Thanabalasingam Gadambanathan
AU - Jo Robinson
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Indian journal of psychological medicine
DO - 10.1177/02537176261497543
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42928735
AB - Background Valid and culturally appropriate instruments are essential for suicide research and risk screening. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Sinhala and Tamil versions of the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire-10 (INQ-10), and Acquired Capability for Suicide Scale-Fearlessness About Death (ACSS-FAD), which assess constructs of the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS).Methods In this cross-sectional study, 551 university students (409 Sinhala-speaking, 142 Tamil-speaking) and 98 patients presenting with self-harm completed the measures. Structural validity, reliability, convergent validity, known-group validity, measurement invariance, and receiver operating characteristic analyses were performed.Results The SBQ-R demonstrated a unidimensional structure, good internal consistency (ordinal α = 0.86-0.92), language and gender invariance, and satisfactory convergent and known-group validity. The original seven-item ACSS-FAD performed poorly, whereas a four-item version demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties. INQ-10 did not support the hypothesized two-factor structure, with relatively better support for a bifactor model. The SBQ-R discriminated between students and patients presenting with self-harm (AUC = 0.716, 95% CI = 0.656-0.777), with improved discrimination among patients reporting suicidal intent (AUC = 0.876, 95% CI = 0.820-0.931). The established cut-off of ≥7 was supported.Conclusions The Sinhala and Tamil SBQ-R demonstrated good psychometric properties and are suitable for suicide research and risk screening in Sri Lanka. The four-item ACSS-FAD appears preferable to the original version, whereas INQ-10 subscale scores should be interpreted cautiously. These findings support further research on suicidal behavior and evaluation of IPTS-based hypotheses in clinical and community populations in Sri Lanka.
SN - 0253-7176
SN - 0975-1564
ER -