Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, New York, USA.
PLoS One. 2012;7(8):e44069. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044069. Epub 2012 Aug 29.
Suicide has been linked to intense negative affect. However, little is known about the range of affects experienced by suicidal persons, or the separate effects of affect valence and intensity. We examine a novel self-report scale, the 17-item Affective Intensity Rating Scale (AIRS), and its relation to suicidality in a high-risk sample.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Patients presenting with suicidality were recruited from the Emergency Department in a large urban hospital, and completed a battery of assessments there. Structure of the AIRS was assessed using Maximum Likelihood Factor Analysis with Oblimin rotation. Convergent and divergent validity were assessed by regressing AIRS subscales against Brief Symptom Inventory subscales. Relation to suicidality was assessed by regression of suicide attempt status against scale and subscale scores, and individual items and two-way item interactions, along with significant clinical and demographic factors. 176 subjects were included in analyses. Three reliable subscales were identified within the AIRS measure: positive feelings towards self, negative feelings towards self, and negative feelings towards other. Only individual AIRS items associated significantly with suicide attempt status; strong 'feelings of love' associated positively with actual suicide attempt, while 'feelings of calm' and 'positive feelings towards self' associated negatively. Interaction analyses suggest 'calm' moderates the association of 'love' with suicide attempt.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Factor analysis of the AIRS is consistent with a circumplex model of affect. Affective dimensions did not predict suicidal behavior, but intense feelings of love, particularly in the absence of protective feelings of calm or positive self-view associated with current attempt.
自杀与强烈的负面情绪有关。然而，人们对自杀者所经历的情绪范围，以及情绪效价和强度的单独影响知之甚少。我们研究了一种新的自我报告量表，即 17 项情感强度评定量表（AIRS），并在高危样本中考察了它与自杀倾向的关系。
方法/主要发现：从一家大型城市医院的急诊室招募有自杀倾向的患者，并在那里完成一系列评估。采用最大似然因子分析和 Oblimin 旋转评估 AIRS 的结构。通过将 AIRS 分量回归到Brief Symptom Inventory 分量来评估收敛和发散效度。通过将自杀企图状态回归到量表和分量表评分，以及个体项目和双向项目交互，以及重要的临床和人口统计学因素，评估与自杀倾向的关系。纳入了 176 名受试者进行分析。在 AIRS 测量中确定了三个可靠的分量表：对自我的积极感受、对自我的消极感受和对他人的消极感受。只有个体 AIRS 项目与自杀企图状态显著相关；强烈的“爱的感觉”与实际自杀企图呈正相关，而“平静的感觉”和“对自我的积极感觉”与自杀企图呈负相关。交互分析表明，“平静”调节了“爱”与自杀企图的关系。
结论/意义：AIRS 的因子分析与情感的双因素模型一致。情感维度不能预测自杀行为，但强烈的爱的感觉，特别是在没有当前尝试时与平静或积极的自我观念相关的保护感觉的情况下，与自杀企图相关。
