The scale is a valid measure of resilience among Nigerian student nurses.

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OBjeCTIve: The objective of this study is to examine the factor structure, validity, reliability, and the screening properties as a suicide risk assessment tool of the 14-item Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) in a nonclinical sample of Nigerian university students. MeThOdS:A total of 514 students completed the PANSI, in addition to the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). ReSUlTS:Prior to the factor analysis, the sample was randomly divided into two. In one half of the sample (sample 1), exploratory factor analysis of the inventory yielded a 2-factor model (Negative Suicide Ideation [PANSI-NSI] and Positive Ideation [PANSI-PI]), whereas confirmatory factor analysis in the other half (sample 2) produced a 2-factor model with indices of fitness that indicated a satisfactory model fit (c 2 = 93.8; df = 67; χ 2 /degree of freedom = 1.400; P = .017; goodness of fit index = 0.951; Tucker-Lewis index = 0.964; comparative fit index = 0.974; root mean square error of approximation = 0.040). The internal consistencies of the items of the PANSI-PI and PANSI-NSI subscales were 0.75 and 0.79, respectively. The construct validity of the 2 subscales was modestly satisfactory: PANSI-PI had negative correlations with the GHQ-12 (r = −.239, P < .001) and the BDI-II (r = −.190, P < .001), whereas the PANSI-NSI had positive correlations with the GHQ-12 (r = .248, P < .001) and the BDI-II (r = .376, P < .001). In addition, a cutoff total score of 17 on the PANSI-NSI was associated with the best sensitivity (80.0%) and specificity (92.5%) in the identification of those students who endorsed experiencing suicidal ideation (area under the curve = 0.82, 95% confidence interval = 0.58-1.00). CONClUSIONS:The PANSI has exhibited satisfactory psychometric properties as a self-rated suicidal behavior assessment instrument in the evaluation of the positive and negative thoughts associated with suicidal ideation among Nigerian university students.

The BHS has satisfactory psychometric properties as a suicide risk screening tool among Nigerian university students.

Background: The Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), as the most globally utilized measure of hopelessness, has been recognized to be very useful in the prediction of suicide. Its psychometric properties in terms of its factor structure, validity, and reliability have not been examined among Nigerian student nurses. The rate of suicide has previously been reported to be high among nurses and student nurses. Objective: The purpose of this study, is to explore the psychometric properties of the BHS in a non-clinical sample of student nurses (438), selected from four tertiary health care affiliated training institutions in SouthWestern Nigeria. The student nurses completed the BHS, in addition to the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) and a sociodemographic questionnaire. Results: The BHS exhibited satisfactory reliability (Cronbach's alpha 0.89), while its convergent validity was supported via significant correlations with the GHQ-12 (r = 0.724, P < 0.001), PHQ-9 (r = 0.749, P < 0.001), and RSES (r = −0.727, P < 0.001). It also exhibited satisfactory discriminative concurrent criterion validity through its ability to reflect higher hopelessness scores in the student nurses with GHQ-12 and PHQ-9 scores above the cut off points. Exploratory factor analysis applying principal axis factoring indicates that the construct of hopelessness is best explained by a two-factor 18-item model. Conclusions: The BHS is a valid and reliable measure of hopelessne ss among Nigerian student nurses. The findings in this study indicate that there may be need to establish interventions that will reduce the severity of hopelessness among Nigerian student nurses through the screening for depressive symptoms and psychological distress.