Brief Self-Report Measure of Agitation: A Psychometric Investigation in a German Sample

Abstract

To perform repeated measurements in clinical practice without putting unnecessary strain on patients, short instruments are needed. The Brief Self-Report Measure of Agitation (BAM) is a short measure assessing agitation, which has been associated with suicidal ideation and behavior. However, its reliability and validity have not been examined in an independent sample. A non-clinical sample of N = 429 participants aged between 18-81 (M = 27.36, SD = 9.67; 82.3% female) was surveyed online. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted and reliability was investigated. The validity of the BAM was examined by calculating correlations and an ANOVA for differences in BAM scores between subgroups. BAM items significantly loaded onto one factor (factor loadings: ≥ .62) and the measure was found to have good reliability (Cronbach’s α = .83) and convergent/discriminant validity. Participants with recent suicidal ideation and those with recent suicidal ideation and lifetime suicide attempts had significantly higher BAM scores than participants without suicidal ideation/suicide attempt. Results indicate good validity and reliability for the measurement of agitation with the German version of the BAM in the present sample. Thereby, we introduce a brief instrument in German for repeated assessment of agitation in research and clinical practice.

Funding

This study did not receive any funding.

Disclosure statement

All authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Data availability statement

All relevant data are reported within the paper and are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Acknowledgments

For their assistance in the translation process, we thank Elena Vieth, Lena Grabo, and Jana-Sophie Stenzel. For proofreading, we thank Dr. Andy Siddaway and Dr. Tobias Teismann.