Validation of the Attitudes towards Deliberate Self-Harm Questionnaire among Korean Emergency Department Nurses

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Attitudes Towards Deliberate Self-Harm Questionnaire (K-ADSHQ), originally developed by McAllister et al. Methods: The study included 212 emergency department nurses. The instruments used were the K-ADSHQ, the Suicide Opinion Questionnaire (SOQ), and the Self-Harm Antipathy Scale (SHAS). The researchers assessed content validity, construct validity, convergent-discriminant validity, and criterion validity, and also verified reliability. Results: The content validity index for all 24 items was found to be≥.8. The absolute fit indices for construct validity were: x2=334.14 (df=164, p<.001), CMIN/df=2.04, RMR=.038, RMSEA=.070, and GFI=.868. Incremental fit indices included CFI=.867, TLI=.846, and IFI=.869. Convergent-discriminant validity also met the established criteria. The reliability for individual factors ranged from .67 to .81, with an overall reliability of .84. Conclusion: The final K-ADSHQ is a 20-item tool with 4 subscales, measured on a 4-point Likert scale. Higher scores on the K-ADSHQ indicate more positive attitudes among nurses toward patients who engage in deliberate self-harm. This study confirmed the suitability of the K-ADSHQ for use in Korea.