Psychometric Properties and Correlates of the Lester-Bean Attribution of Causes to Suicide Scale (German Form)

Psychometric properties and correlates of the German form of Lester and Bean's 1992 Attribution of Causes to Suicide Scale, of 18 items tapping into lay theories of suicide (intrapsychic problems, interpersonal conflicts, and societal forces as causes), were investigated in a sample of the general population in Austria ( n = 156). The three attributional dimensions presented moderate internal consistencies and the 18 items appeared to be factorially orderly, as indicated by exploratory factor analysis. Previous results were replicated, with positive interrelations among all three dimensions, but these were largely confined to men. Societal causes of suicide were significantly less frequently endorsed than intrapsychic or interpersonal causes. Respondents' sex, intelligence, and knowledge about suicide were unrelated, and scores on the Big Five personality factors and social desirability were largely unrelated to the three dimensions. Endorsing intrapsychic causes to suicide was correlated with advanced age, religiosity, and conservative political orientation, and the three dimensions entertained meaningful associations with locus of control (internality, social externality, and fatalistic externality). All observed demographic and attitudinal correlates were, however, of modest magnitude. Implications of the findings and directions for further inquiry are discussed.