Suicide concerns among pretrial detainees: validation of the Portuguese version of the SCOPE-2

Abstract

Purpose Remand prisoners (RPs) are known to be in a more vulnerable situation than those already convicted. Beyond the difficulties to adapt to the prison, RP also tend to experience tough circumstances due to the uncertainty of their future. This study aims to further test the psychometric properties of the Suicide Concerns for Offenders in the Prison Environment (SCOPE-2) in a sample of RP. Design/methodology/approach The authors have carried out a confirmatory factor analysis to test the psychometric qualities of the SCOPE-2. The authors tested the originally proposed two-factor structure composed of two subscales: optimism and protective self-worth. Also, the authors examined internal consistency through Cronbach’s alphas. Convergent validity was tested by correlational analyses between SCOPE-2 subscales and the Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) total scores. Finally, the authors have tested known-groups validity by carrying out discriminant analysis by testing the SCOPE-2 subscales’ ability to predict belonging to a group with previous suicide attempts. Findings The confirmatory factor analysis showed an acceptable model fit, even though the subscale “Protective self-worth” presented a less acceptable fit. The correlation analysis supported the convergent validity of the SCOPE-2. Both the “Optimism” and “Protective self-worth” subscales showed a positive correlation with the total scores of BSI. Finally, the Portuguese version of SCOPE-2 also showed known groups validity. Concretely, the “Optimism” scores revealed an acceptable predictive accuracy. Practical implications This study embraces important contributions to the practice as it was the first study to validate a measure to assess vulnerability for suicide and self-harm in male and female RP. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this was the first study to validate an instrument to assess vulnerability for suicide and self-harm in both male and female pretrial detainees. Knowing their particular case, as well as the lack of responses for these individuals, it is particularly important to access suicide concerns that could precede suicide attempts.