Assessing psychache as a suicide risk variable: Data with the Portuguese version of the psychache scale

Abstract

Several studies have consistently related psychological pain to suicide risk. Psychache, according to Shneidman's perspective and measured by the Psychache Scale has been confirmed as an important variable in risk prediction. In the present study, we evaluated psychache as a construct related to suicide risk using data obtained with the Portuguese version of the Psychache Scale translated from the original English version. A community sample of 628 individuals responded to the Portuguese version of the Psychache Scale, the Suicidal Behavior Questionnaire-Revised, the CES-D Scale, the Beck Hopelessness Scale, and the Suicide Ideation Questionnaire. Results supported the unidimensional scoring of the Psychache scale, its ability to differentiate between individuals at-risk for suicide from individuals not at-risk, its relationship with different, but related, constructs and its ability to predict suicide ideation.