Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory: Initial Psychometric Properties as a Suicide Risk Screening Tool Among Nigerian University Students

Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the factor structure, validity, reliability, and the screening properties as a suicide risk assessment tool of the 14-item Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) in a nonclinical sample of Nigerian university students. Methods: A total of 514 students completed the PANSI, in addition to the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Results: Prior to the factor analysis, the sample was randomly divided into two. In one half of the sample (sample 1), exploratory factor analysis of the inventory yielded a 2-factor model (Negative Suicide Ideation [PANSI-NSI] and Positive Ideation [PANSI-PI]), whereas confirmatory factor analysis in the other half (sample 2) produced a 2-factor model with indices of fitness that indicated a satisfactory model fit (c2 = 93.8; df = 67; χ2/degree of freedom = 1.400; P = .017; goodness of fit index = 0.951; Tucker-Lewis index = 0.964; comparative fit index = 0.974; root mean square error of approximation = 0.040). The internal consistencies of the items of the PANSI-PI and PANSI-NSI subscales were 0.75 and 0.79, respectively. The construct validity of the 2 subscales was modestly satisfactory: PANSI-PI had negative correlations with the GHQ-12 (r = −.239, P < .001) and the BDI-II (r = −.190, P < .001), whereas the PANSI-NSI had positive correlations with the GHQ-12 (r = .248, P < .001) and the BDI-II (r = .376, P < .001). In addition, a cutoff total score of 17 on the PANSI-NSI was associated with the best sensitivity (80.0%) and specificity (92.5%) in the identification of those students who endorsed experiencing suicidal ideation (area under the curve = 0.82, 95% confidence interval = 0.58-1.00). Conclusions: The PANSI has exhibited satisfactory psychometric properties as a self-rated suicidal behavior assessment instrument in the evaluation of the positive and negative thoughts associated with suicidal ideation among Nigerian university students.