METHODS: We translated the English version of the Future Disposition Inventory-24 (FDI-24) into Chinese and examined its factor structure, estimates of internal consistency reliability, and psychometric properties in a representative sample of university students. In particular, students (N = 2,074) from two universities in Shandong Province in China were identified using the multi-stage stratified sampling method. In addition to the FDI-24, we collected preliminary data using self-report instruments that included the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) and a general sociodemographic information questionnaire.
RESULTS: The results of the internal consistency reliability estimates were adequate regarding the scores on the three FDI-24 subscales: Cronbach's alpha = .89-.97, Omega total = .85-.96, Revelle's Omega total = .88-.96, the greatest lower bound (GLB) = .89-.96 and Coefficient H = .86-.94. Bivariate correlation analyses showed evidence for criterion and discriminant validity. The 3-factor oblique-Geomin-rotation solution accounted for 62.92% of the total variance in the exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) result showed that the 3-factor model provided adequate fit statistics for the sample data: the robust comparative fit index (R-CFI) was .959, robust Tucker Lewis index (R-TLI) was .946 and robust root mean square error of approximation (R-RMSEA) was .090.
CONCLUSION: The FDI-24 has a satisfactory factor structure, reliability estimates, and satisfactory evidence of concurrent validity estimates for students with different demographic and cultural backgrounds. The FDI-24 holds promise for use in future investigations with Chinese students.
METHOD: Participants were 11,806 undergraduate students from seven provinces in China, of which 237 reported a non-fatal suicide attempt. We used the random numbers generator function within the SPSS to randomly select a control subset of 1185 participants to be used as the comparison group based on a 1:5 case-control ratio. Scores on three commonly used risk measures (depression, hopelessness, and psychache) and three protective measures (social support, self-esteem, and purpose in life) for suicidality were adopted to compare the responses of the two groups.
RESULTS: Suicide attempters had indicated higher Median scores for all three risk factor measurements. Suicide attempters also reported significantly lower Median scores for all three protective factor measurements compared to non-suicide attempters. The results suggest that the suicide attempters' group had higher risks of suicidality compared to the non-attempter group.
CONCLUSIONS: Suicide attempters continued to report higher scores of risk factors and lower scores of protective factors, indicating that they may continue to be at a higher likelihood of a suicide attempt. Key protective factors should be identified for each individual in order to deliver appropriate clinical interventions to reduce their risk of reattempting.