A Preliminary Validation Study of Two Ultra‐Brief Measures of Suicide Risk: The Suicide and Perceived Burdensomeness Visual Analog Scales

The advent of rapid‐acting suicide‐focused interventions and longitudinal research designs employing high‐frequency, repeated measurement of suicide risk has resulted in a need to quantify suicide risk during very brief windows of time (e.g., minutes, hours, days). This has rapidly outpaced traditional methods for assessing suicide risk, which often focus on measuring indicators of suicide risk during much broader intervals of time (e.g., weeks to months). Valid and practical methods for rapidly assessing suicide risk during small time intervals are therefore needed. This study reports a preliminary examination of the Suicide Visual Analog Scale (S‐VAS) and the Perceived Burdensomeness Visual Analog Scale (PB‐VAS) in a clinical sample of suicidal adults. Results support the convergent validity, predictive validity, responsiveness, and clinical utility of both scales, suggesting the S‐VAS and PB‐VAS are valid methods for rapidly quantifying two dimensions of suicide risk.     

Beyond androgyny: The emergence of sex-role transcendence as a theoretical construct

Recent trends in sex-role research are reviewed with the purpose of showing a paradigm shift in the kinds of issues and questions thought to be important for an understanding of sex-role development. Two recent advances, conceptualizations of androgyny and sex-role transcendence are described with particular emphasis on the emergence of sex-role transcendence as a new theoretical construct. It is argued that while personality, social-learning, and structural-developmental theories account for sex-role identity and androgyny, only structural-developmental theory provides an adequate conceptual framework for the construct of sex-role transcendence. Questions are raised concerning the empirical demonstration of the concept.     

The “Ought-Is” Problem: An Implementation Science Framework for Translating Ethical Norms Into Practice

Abstract

We argue that once a normative claim is developed, there is an imperative to effect changes based on this norm. As such, ethicists should adopt an “implementation mindset” when formulating norms, and collaborate with others who have the expertise needed to implement policies and practices. To guide this translation of norms into practice, we propose a framework that incorporates implementation science into ethics. Implementation science is a discipline dedicated to supporting the sustained enactment of interventions. We further argue that implementation principles should be integrated into the development of specific normative claims as well as the enactment of these norms. Ethicists formulating a specific norm should consider whether that norm can feasibly be enacted because the resultant specific norm will directly affect the types of interventions subsequently developed. To inform this argument, we will describe the fundamental principles of implementation science, using informed consent to research participation as an illustration.