A psychometric assessment of the Military Suicide Attitudes Questionnaire (MSAQ)

Cramer, R. J., Montanaro, E., VanSickle, M., Cacace, S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0419-4506, Zabelski, S., Smith, E. L., Franks, M., Grover, S. and Cunningham, C. A. (2022) A psychometric assessment of the Military Suicide Attitudes Questionnaire (MSAQ). Psychiatry Research, 317. 114849. ISSN 1872-7123 doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114849

Abstract/Summary

Suicide rates remain high among military populations. Stigmatizing beliefs about suicide contribute to the problem of heightened suicide risk as a deterrent for help-seeking. Measurement of military suicide stigma is therefore an important gap in the literature as a necessity toward the development of military suicide prevention programming. This paper assessed the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Military Suicide Attitudes Questionnaire (MSAQ). Study 1 featured secondary analysis of a suicide risk dataset from active duty treatment-seeking military personnel (N = 200). Study 2 was a secondary analysis of a statewide assessment of Army National Guard service members’ beliefs about mental health and suicide (N =1116). Factor analyses results collectively supported a four-factor Military Suicide Attitudes Questionnaire (MSAQ) structure: discomfort, unacceptability, support, and empathic views. Subscale reliabilities ranged from 0.77 to 0.83 across samples. Unacceptability and support displayed significant negative correlations with psychological distress. Men displayed more negative suicide-related beliefs compared to women counterparts. Discomfort and unacceptability beliefs displayed significant positive associations with perceived barriers to care. The final short version of the MSAQ is an efficient, multi-dimensional measure of military suicide-related beliefs. The instrument can be used for public health assessment and program evaluation in military settings.