The life attitudes schedule: a scale to assess adolescent life-enhancing and life-threatening behaviors

Suicide Life Threat Behav. 1995 Winter;25(4):458-74.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a questionnaire to measure suicidal and other risk-taking behaviors, the Life Attitudes Schedule (LAS), and to test a theoretical model that postulates a single domain of behaviors to which all life-threatening and life-enhancing behaviors belong. The LAS was developed and piloted on 1539 high school students and young adults. The schedule measures four different content categories: death related, health related, injury related, and self-related. Each content category includes an equal number of items designed to assess actions, thoughts, and feelings. Consistent with the theoretical model, the LAS includes positive (life-enhancing) and negative (life-threatening) behaviors. In this paper we present psychometric information for the LAS. The results are interpreted as providing support for a broad, bipolar conceptualization of suicidal and other risk-taking behavior that encompasses life-threatening and life-enhancing behaviors.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Attitude to Death*
  • Dangerous Behavior*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Personality Development*
  • Personality Inventory / statistics & numerical data*
  • Pilot Projects
  • Psychometrics
  • Reference Values
  • Risk-Taking
  • Suicide / psychology
  • Suicide Prevention*