Psychometric properties of the Revised Facts on Suicide Quiz in Austrian medical and psychology undergraduates

Death Stud. 2008;32(10):937-50. doi: 10.1080/07481180802440514.

Abstract

Psychometric properties and demographic correlates of a German form of R. W. Hubbard and J. L. McIntosh's (1992) Revised Facts on Suicide Quiz (RFOS), an inventory for assessing overall knowledge about suicide, were investigated in a sample of 1,093 Austrian medical and psychology students. Internal consistency of the RFOS was weak, as were many of the item-total correlations, indicating a fair amount of item-content heterogeneity. Demographic variables (sex, age, field of study, and study level) were significant predictors of RFOS scores and item responses. On the whole, women, advanced, older, and medical students outperformed men, junior, younger, and psychology students. Various directions for further inquiry are discussed

MeSH terms

  • Austria
  • Cross-Cultural Comparison
  • Educational Status
  • Female
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Psychometrics*
  • Students / psychology*
  • Suicide*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*
  • United States