Factorial structure of the suicide intervention response inventory

Previous research has reported the development and validation of the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory (SIRI), a self-report instrument assessing a counselor's ability to select an appropriate response to the life-threatening client. The present study examined whether the response skill measured by the instrument might be multidimensional, rather than unitary as previously assumed. Inventories completed by 457 paraprofessional counselors from five suicide and crisis intervention services throughout the United States were factor-analyzed to yield their simple structure. Results suggested that the instrument is indeed multifactorial, with four component factors identified as Elaboration of the Complaint, Exploration of Suicidality, Involvement, and Reflection of Negative Feelings. The implications of these findings for training in crisis counseling and for the further psychometric development of the instrument are noted.