The structure of the Reasons for Attempting Suicide Questionnaire (RASQ) in a nonclinical adult population

A sample of 561 nonclinical adult respondents completed the Reasons for Attempting Suicide Questionnaire. Although confirmatory principal components analysis indicated some support for this measure’s previously identified two-dimensional structure, various rules for determining the number of components all converged in supporting a three-component solution, representing internal perturbation-based reasons, manipulative motivations, and extrapunitive motivations. Validity for each of these three components was established by demonstrating that scales based on these dimensions were each capable of significantly differentiating between previous suicide attempters and nonattempters. Suggestions for revisions to the Reasons for Attempting Suicide Questionnaire are offered.