Assessing psychache as a suicide risk variable: Data with the Portuguese version of the psychache scale

Abstract

Several studies have consistently related psychological pain to suicide risk. Psychache, according to Shneidman's perspective and measured by the Psychache Scale has been confirmed as an important variable in risk prediction. In the present study, we evaluated psychache as a construct related to suicide risk using data obtained with the Portuguese version of the Psychache Scale translated from the original English version. A community sample of 628 individuals responded to the Portuguese version of the Psychache Scale, the Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire-Revised, the CES-D Scale, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Suicide Ideation Questionnaire. Results supported the unidimensional scoring of the Psychache scale, its ability to differentiate between individuals at-risk for suicide from individuals not at-risk, its relationship with different, but related, constructs and its ability to predict suicide ideation.

Avoidance of psychological pain and suicidal ideation in community samples: Replication across two countries and two languages

“…Scale score validity has been indicated by correlations with measures of suicide ideation ( r = 0.65) and suicide attempts ( r = 0.45; Holden et al, ). For the Portuguese version, a coefficient α of 0.95 has been reported previously (Campos, Holden, & Gomes, ) and, in a recent study with an American sample (D'Agata & Holden, ), coefficient α was 0.97. In the current study, scale score coefficient α values of 0.94 and 0.98 were found for samples one and two, respectively.…”

Psychological pain and previous suicide attempts in young adults: Results with the Portuguese version of the Psychache Scale

“…Both authors agreed that both forms were quite similar and that additional modifications were not required. Previous results with the Portuguese version (Campos et al, 2018) have supported the unidimensional scoring of the scale, its ability to differentiate between individuals at-risk for suicide from individuals not at-risk, its relationship with different, but related, constructs, and its ability to statistically predict suicide ideation. Recently (Pachkowski et al, 2019), Psychache Scale items have been differentiated into 3 items emphasizing unbearable psychache (i.e., unbearable pain) versus 10 items that measure tolerable, rather than unbearable psychological pain.…”

“…A total of 344 (54.7%) of these participants were married or living together and 108 (10.2%) were unemployed. This sample had participated in a previous study (Campos et al, 2018) and was approached in public places, such as small shops, cafes, a university, offices, and a kindergarten, and invited to participate in a study of suicide risk. Individuals, who agreed, signed an informed consent form that indicated confidentiality, and, subsequently, completed a research protocol that included various questionnaires, including the Psychache Scale and a clinical and sociodemographic form.…”

“…The Psychache Scale is composed of 13 items and previous studies (Campos, Holden, & Gomes, 2018;Troister & Holden, 2013) have confirmed its unidimensionality but, recently, Pachkowski, May, Tsai, and Klonsky (2019) have differentiated the scale into three items that emphasize unbearable psychache, a more intense and difficult to tolerate psychological pain (e.g., "I can't take my pain any more") versus 10 items that emphasize a relatively more moderate form of pain (e.g., "I seem to ache inside"). However, those researchers did not evaluate whether the three-item scale of unbearable pain provided a statistically significant incremental contribution to the statistical prediction of suicide behaviors.…”

Hunting to Feel Human, the Process of Women’s Help-Seeking for Suicidality After Intimate Partner Violence: A Feminist Grounded Theory and Photovoice Study

“…Feeling guilty for needing help, women who have experienced IPV may believe that others would be better off if they were to die by suicide. Mental health problems like those associated with IPV can lead to unbearable psychological pain, another factor linked to suicide (Campos et al, 2018; Montemarano et al, 2018). Women may believe that the only way to end the pain is to end their lives.…”