Thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and acquired capability for suicide among university students of Bangladesh: Scales validation and status assessment

S M Yasir Arafat; Fahad Hussain; Mir Susmita Zaman; Tamanna Tabassum; Md Khayrul Islam; Farzana Rabin Shormi; Anisur Rahman Khan; Md Rabiul Islam; A S M Redwan; Noor Ahmed Giasuddin; Anila Mubashir; Md Abdullah Saeed Khan

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1025976

Thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and acquired capability for suicide among university students of Bangladesh: Scales validation and status assessment

Front Psychiatry. 2022 Oct 14:13:1025976. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1025976. eCollection 2022.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Enam Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
² Department of Pharmacy, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali, Bangladesh.
³ Pi Research Consultancy Center, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Tairunnessa Memorial Medical College, Gazipur, Bangladesh.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁶ Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, East West University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁷ Department of Pharmacy, University of Asia Pacific, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Chattogram International Medical College, Chattogram, Bangladesh.
⁹ Department of Psychiatry, Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College, Gazipur, Bangladesh.
¹⁰ Department of Applied Psychology, National University of Modern Languages, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Abstract

Background: Identification of prior mental events of suicide attempts has immense importance in suicide prevention. However, it has not been studied in Bangladesh as there was no available psychometrically valid instrument measuring it.

Objectives: We aimed to test the psychometric properties of the interpersonal needs questionnaire (INQ-15) and acquired capability for suicide scale-fearlessness about death (ACSS-FAD) in Bangla along with the determination of the level of thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and acquired capability for suicide.

Materials and methods: We collected data between 29 March and 14 April 2022 from 1,207 students of medical colleges and universities in Bangladesh by Google form. We assessed the psychometric properties of Bangla INQ and ACSS-FAD scales and examined factors associated with thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and acquired capability for suicide.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 22.82 ± 1.68 (range 18-29) years, 51% were females, 84% were graduate students, and 92% were unmarried. Both of the scales revealed acceptable levels of reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure of Bangla INQ after dropping three items from thwarted belongingness domain (item 9, 11, and 12) and a single factor structure for Bangla ACSS-FAD after dropping three items (item 1, 4, and 6). Perceived burdensomeness was significantly higher in females, students with a history of mental illness, family history of suicide, and the history of suicidal attempts. Fearlessness about death was significantly higher among females, non-Muslim participants, and history of suicidal attempts.

Conclusion: The current study revealed psychometric properties of two suicide scales (INQ and ACSS-FAD) in Bangla that can be used in subsequent studies. Prevention strategies targeting to females, persons with psychiatric disorder, history of previous attempt(s) should be prioritized specially among the young age group.

Keywords: interpersonal needs theory; psychometric properties; reliability; students; suicide in Bangladesh; validity.