Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of Beck Scate for Suicide Ideation(BSI-CV) among university students

Objective: To assess the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation(BSI-CV) among university students.Methods: A representative sample of 765 students from 4 of 42 universities in Chongqing was identified using a multi-stage random sampling method.Totally 629(82%) of the identified students completed a self-completion questionnaire that included an independent item of past active suicidal ideation and the BSI-CV,which assessed suicidal ideation in the prior week and at the time in the past when the subject felt most depressed or most suicidal.Respondents were randomly assigned to fill out the questionnaire anonymously or to provide their names on the form.Three hundred and ten participants were re-administered the questionnaire 5-8 days later.Results: The Cronbach' s alpha values,which assess internal consistency,were 0.78 and 0.86,respectively for the items that assess ideation in the prior week and for items that assess ideation when most depressed.The corresponding values were 0.74 and 0.88 for anonymous respondents,and 0.81 and 0.84 for those who signed the form.The test-retest reliability(using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient) were 0.56 and 0.75 for the total score in the prior week and when most depressed,respectively;0.80 and 0.81 for anonymous respondents,0.41 and 0.69 for respondents who signed the form,respectively.The scale scores for the prior week and for when most depressed were significantly higher in respondents who independently reported prior active suicidal ideation than in those who reported no prior active ideation.Conclusion: The Chinese version of the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation is valid and reliable when employed with university students in China.The test-retest reliability measures for anonymous respondents are greater than those of respondents who provide their names.