The German version of the Painful and Provocative Events Scale: A psychometric investigation

The interpersonal theory of suicide (Joiner, T.E., 2005. Why People Die By Suicide. Harvard University Press, Cambridge) postulates that, for a serious or lethal suicide attempt one has to possess a desire to die and the capability to commit suicide. The capability is proposed to be acquired over time by repeated experiences with painful and provocative events such as self-injurious behavior and other experiences such as childhood abuse, combat exposure, physical fights, promiscuous sex, and playing contact sports. Up to now, experiences with painful and provocative events are measured with various versions of the Painful and Provocative Events Scale (PPES). However, a thorough validation of this assessment instrument is still lacking. Our study aimed at validating the German version of PPES, with two clinical (n=424) and one community sample (n=532). Results support a two-factor structure (eight items “active painful and provocative events”, four items “passive painful and provocative events”) that was invariant across the three subsamples. Nonetheless, low factor loadings, low indicator reliabilities, moderate construct reliability and mixed evidence for construct validity indicate that the PPES in its current form appears to be of limited use. The development of a new instrument to assess painful and provocative events seems appropriate.