Psychometric properties of the Literacy of Suicide Scale (LOSS-SF) and the Stigma of Suicide Scale (SOSS-SF) in a Hungarian sample

Although knowledge and stigma about suicide are important factors in suicide prevention, there are no validated instruments available in Hungary. Our goal was to validate the Literacy of Suicide Scale—Short Form (LOSS-SF) and the Stigma of Suicide Scale—Short Form (SOSS-SF) in Hungarian. An anonymous online survey was administered to a self-selected online convenience sample of 954 participants of 38.0 years (SD: 14.8) of age. Our study used a descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional design. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicate a good model fit for a three-factor structure of the SOSS-SF scale. Invariance testing revealed that the scale is valid across gender, age and former suicide ideation. LOSS-SF had an acceptable unidimensional model fit as a two-parameter logistic (2PL) IRT (Item Response Theory) based survey, and results showed good infit–outfit with appropriate item discrimination and difficulty measures. The results show that the two instruments show sound psychometric properties and construct validity within this sample. While the Hungarian versions of the SOSS-SF and the LOSS-SF provide useful tools for assessing suicide stigma and suicide literacy in research settings, further validation on nationally representative samples may be required in case population-level norms are needed to inform national policy-makers.