Re-examining the latent structure of suicidal thoughts using taxometric analysis: Implications for testing ideation to action theoretical models of suicidal thoughts and behavior

A central question in psychological science concerns whether psychological constructs are best conceptualized as dimensional or consist of one or more categories. The present study uses contemporary taxometric procedures to examine the latent structure of suicidal thoughts, with implications for how suicidal thoughts and behavior (STB) ought to be conceptualized, assessed, measured, and managed. Three nonredundant taxometric procedures (MAMBAC, MAXEIG, and L-Mode) were performed on various sets of indicators, and analyses were replicated across two large samples that included large numbers of individuals reporting current and recent STB. Results provide further evidence that the latent structure of suicidal thoughts is best understood as dimensional. However, inconsistent findings across studies and the relatively small number of taxometric studies conducted to date both suggest that it is premature to draw clear or definitive conclusions about the latent structure of STB being dimensional or categorical based on taxometric evidence. We report a meta-analysis of the current literature which evidences this ambiguity. We provide a detailed, critical discussion of the STB taxometric literature and outline key directions for future taxometric studies in this area, particularly how taxometric analysis relates to testing ‘ideation to action’ theoretical models, which hypothesize that the development of suicidal ideation and the progression from suicide desire to attempting suicide are distinct processes with distinct explanations/mechanisms. It remains entirely possible that qualitatively distinct types of STB (e.g., representing ideation vs. action) or populations have different latent structures indicating different levels of risk.

Typological Profiles of Depression of College Students: Latent Classes and Controlling for Response Bias of the Baptista Depression Short-Scale (EBADEP-short)

Response styles and non-linearity might reduce the validity of scores on depression inventories. To address both issues, we explored the latent class structure of the Baptista’s Depression Scale (EBADEP), and the influence of extreme response bias. In total, 1,137 Brazilian college students (M = 26 years, SD = 7.3) participated in this study. Taxometric analysis yielded ambiguous results, without clear support for either a dimensional or a categorical representation of the data. We found three latent classes: one comprising participants with a tendency to endorse items about sadness, angst, pessimism, and low self-efficacy; another with individuals scoring low on all symptoms; and a third with intermediate scores. We found no relationship between the composition of latent classes and extreme response. Participants who reported having received a diagnostic of depression were more likely to belong to the first latent class. These findings validate the clinical usefulness of a latent class structure for the EBADEP.

Taxometric evidence for a dimensional latent structure of hypnotic suggestibility

Hypnotic suggestibility denotes a capacity to respond positively to direct verbal suggestions in an involuntary manner in the context of hypnosis. Elucidating the characteristics of this ability has bearing on responsiveness to suggestions in a variety of clinical and non-clinical contexts. A considerable amount of research has focused on a small subgroup of individuals who display strong responsiveness to hypnotic suggestions. However, it remains poorly understood whether these highly suggestible individuals constitute a discrete subgroup (taxon) that is characterized by a qualitatively distinct mode of responding from the remainder of the population or whether hypnotic suggestibility is better modelled as a dimensional ability. In this study, we applied taxometric analysis, a statistical method for distinguishing between dimensional and categorical models of a psychological ability, to behavioural and involuntariness subscale scores of the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale: Form A (HGSHS:A) in a sample of neurotypical individuals (N=584). Analyses of HGSHS:A behavioural and involuntariness subscale scores with different a priori taxon base rates yielded consistent evidence for a dimensional structure. These results suggest that hypnotic suggestibility, as measured by the HGSHS:A, is dimensional and have implications for current understanding of individual differences in responsiveness to direct verbal suggestions.