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Cited by 65Psychometric Methodologies and TestingSuicide and Self-Harm StudiesAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

Further Insights Into the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS): Unidimensionality Among Psychiatric Inpatients

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Balsamo, Michela, Carlucci, Leonardo, Innamorati, Marco, Lester, David, Pompili, Maurizio·2020·Frontiers in Psychiatry
DOI 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00727PMC PMC7411257
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Abstract

Short versions of the Beck Hopelessness Scale have all been created according the Classical Test Theory, but the use and the application of this theory has been repeatedly criticized. In the current study, the Item Response Theory approach was employed to refine and shorten the BHS in order to build a reasonably coherent unidimensional scale whose items/symptoms can be treated as ordinal indicators of the theoretical concept of hopelessness, scaled along a single continuum. In a sample of 492 psychiatrically hospitalized, adult patients (51.2% females), predominantly with a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder type II, the BHS was submitted to Mokken Scale Analysis. A final set of the nine best-fitting items satisfied the assumptions of local independency, monotonicity, and invariance of the item ordering. Using the ROC curve method, the IRT-based 9-item BHS showed good discriminant validity in categorizing psychiatric inpatients with high/medium suicidal risk and patients with and without suicide attempts. With high sensitivity (>.90), this newly developed scale could be used as a valid screening tool for suicidal risk assessment in psychiatric inpatients.

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  1. [16]Williams M Cry of pain. London: Penguin (1997).
  2. [20]Kovacs M Garrison B Hopelessness and eventual suicide: a 10-year prospective study of patients hospitalized with suicidal ideation. Am J Psychiatry (1985) 1(42): 559–63. 10.1176/ajp.142.5.559 3985195 · DOI · Paper page
  3. [66]Molenaar IW Nonparametric models for polytomous responses. Handbook of modern item response theory. New York, NY: Springer (1997) p. 369–80.
  4. [67]Molenaar IW Mokken scaling revisited. Kwantitatieve Methoden (1982) 3(8): 145–64.
  5. [88]Nunnally J Psychometric theory. (2nd edit.) New York: McGraw-Hill (1978).

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Authors
Balsamo, M., Carlucci, L., Innamorati, M., Lester, D., & Pompili, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Chieti-Pescara (IT)
  • European University of Rome (IT)
  • Stockton University (US)
  • Azienda Ospedaliera Sant'Andrea (IT)
Corresponding author
Balsamo, Michela
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2020-07-31
Volume
11
Pages
727-727
ISSN
1664-0640 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00727
PMC
PMC7411257
OpenAlex
W3046391028
Cited by
65
References
93
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2
FWCI
4.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Keywords
Beck Hopelessness Scale, hopelessness, unidimensionality, scale shortening, Mokken scale analysis, item response theory, bipolar II disorder, psychiatric inpatients, suicide risk assessment, suicide attempts, discriminant validity, screening tool

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