Abstract:
Background: Suicide is the act of deliberately killing oneself. The most significant risk factor for suicide is psychiatric disorders. Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire Revised (SBQ-R) is one of the most commonly used screening tools for suicide in both research and clinical practice even though the tool is not validated based on our cultural context in Ethiopia. The use of a nonvalidated screening tool could result in under or over detection of the problem. Therefore, validating this screening tool can easily help for early detection of suicidal behavior.
Objective: To assess the validity and reliability of Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire Revised (SBQ-R) screening tool among people with mental illnesses at outpatient department of Jimma University Medical Center, psychiatric clinic 2020.
Method: Institutional based cross-sectional study design using consecutive sampling technique was conducted among 154 participants. Internal consistency was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Pearson correlation coefficient was applied to evaluate Criterion validity (Concurrent validity) with MINI suicidality. Sensitivity, specificity and the area under the curve (AUC) for various SBQ-R scores was calculated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Cutoff point was the score which gives maximum Youden Index (Sensitivity+ Specificity -1)
Result: A total 154 patients were participated in the study with 100% respondent rate. The translated Afaan Oromoo version of SBQ-R was understandable and culturally acceptable for language speakers. Internal consistency reliability (Cronbach‟s alpha) was (α =0.88). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis showed area under curve (AUC= 0.95 (95%, CI 0.92 - 0.98). As a suicide risk screening tool SBQ-R demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties with maximum youden‟s index of (0.83) at a total cut-off score 7 at a sensitivity of 95%, a specificity of 88%, and a positive predictive value of 76% and Negative predictive value of 98% among people with mental illness.
Conclusion and recommendation: The study showed that SBQ-R is a valid screening tool of suicidal behaviors for peoples with mental illness those speaks Afaan Oromoo language.
