The interpersonal needs questionnaire with a shortened response scale for oral administration with older adults

Abstract

Objectives The purpose of this paper is to examine the psychometric properties and construct validity of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ) using a modified 3-point response scale for oral administration with older adults. Methods In-home interviews were conducted with 269 participants aged 60 and older who were completing an eligibility interview for a randomized control trial. The INQ was administered orally, as were measures of social support, death and suicide ideation and meaning in life. Results A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated acceptable fit, with all of the items loading significantly onto the associated latent variable of thwarted belongingness or perceived burdensomeness. Construct validity of the measure was supported through an examination of discriminant validity using constructs hypothesized by the interpersonal theory of suicide to be related to the measured constructs, including social support and social integration for thwarted belongingness, social worth and death ideation for perceived burdensomeness, and meaning in life and suicide ideation for both. Conclusion The INQ yields reliable and valid scores of thwarted belongingness and burdensomeness when administered orally using a shortened response scale with older adults. These results help establish the measure as a valuable and practical tool for use in the field of late-life suicide prevention.

The Suicidal Narrative and Its Relationship to the Suicide Crisis Syndrome and Recent Suicidal Behavior

“…The SNI was developed by the study authors based on items selected from a series of previously validated measures of the component dimensions. These measures included the Hewett‐Flett Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt, Flett, Turnbull‐Donovan, & Mikail, ), the Goal Adjustment Scale (Wrosch, Scheier, Miller, Schulz, & Carver, ), the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (Parkhurst, Conwell, & Van Orden, ), the Perceived Criticism Scale (Hooley & Teasdale, ), the Humiliation Inventory (Hartling & Luchetta, ), and the Defeat Scale/Entrapment Scale (Griffiths et al., ). Select items were taken from each instrument and reformatted into a 5‐point Likert scale from not at all true to extremely true .…”

Issues in research on aging and suicide

“…Quantitative studies addressing protective factors have shown that strong reasons for living are associated with adaptive coping skills (i.e., problem-focused and emotion-focused coping)(Marty, Segal, & Coolidge, 2010) and a sense of belonging (McLaren, Gomez, Bailey, & Van Der Horst, 2007). Further, higher meaning in life (Heisel, et al, 2006) and higher social support (Parkhurst, Conwell, & Van Orden, 2015) demonstrate negative associations with suicide ideation in older adults, indicating they may serve as protective factors. Spirituality has also been shown to buffer the association between loss of meaning in life and depression among older adults (Bamonti, Lombardi, Duberstein, King, & Van Orden, 2015).…”

The interpersonal theory of suicide: A systematic review and meta-analysis of a decade of cross-national research.

“…The theory also posits distinct pathways by which suicidal desire and both nonfatal and fatal suicidal behaviors develop. In this regard, the interpersonal theory is the first theory of suicide positioned within what would later be termed the ideation-to-action framework (Klonsky & May, 2014; Klonsky et al, 2016; Nock et al, 2016). …”