Psychometric Properties of the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview-Short Form Among U.S. Active Duty Military Service Members and Veterans.
Ian H StanleyBrian P MarxBrooke A FinaStacey Young-McCaughanHannah C TylerDenise M SloanAbby E BlankenshipKatherine A DondanvilleJames L WalkerJoseph W BoffaCraig J BryanLily A BrownCasey L StraudJim MintzChadi G AbdallahSudie E BackTabatha H BlountBryann B DeBeerJulianne FlanaganEdna B FoaPeter T FoxSteffany J FredmanJohn KrystalMeghan E McDevitt-MurphyDonald D McGearyKristi E PruiksmaPatricia A ResickJohn D RoachePaulo ShiromaDaniel J TaylorJennifer Schuster WachenAlexander M KaplanArgelio L López-RocaKarin L NicholsonRichard P SchobitzChristian C SchraderAllah-Fard M SharrieffJeffrey S YarvisBrett T LitzTerence M KeaneAlan L PetersonPublished in: Assessment (2023)
We assessed the interrater reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview-Short Form (SITBI-SF) in a sample of 1,944 active duty service members and veterans seeking services for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related conditions. The SITBI-SF demonstrated high interrater reliability and good convergent and discriminant validity. The measurement properties of the SITBI-SF were comparable across service members and veterans. Approximately 8% of participants who denied a history of suicidal ideation on the SITBI-SF reported suicidal ideation on a separate self-report questionnaire (i.e., discordant responders). Discordant responders reported significantly higher levels of PTSD symptoms than those who denied suicidal ideation on both response formats. Findings suggest that the SITBI-SF is a reliable and valid interview-based measure of suicide-related thoughts and behaviors for use with military service members and veterans. Suicide risk assessment might be optimized if the SITBI-SF interview is combined with a self-report measure of related constructs.