Fearlessness About Suicide Scale – FSS
Measures an individual's lack of fear regarding dying and suicide.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Fearlessness About Suicide Scale – FSS was developed by William Grunewald, Natalie M. Perkins, Min Eun Jeon, E. David Klonsky, Thomas E. Joiner, & April R. Smith (2024). It is designed to measure Fearlessness about suicide. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 7 items.
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 0 = Strongly disagree, 1 = Disagree, 2 = Somewhat disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Somewhat agree, 5 = Agree, 6 = Strongly agree.
The scale includes 4 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 0 to 42. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Fearlessness: 0 – 14
- Moderate Fearlessness: 15 – 28
- High Fearlessness: 29 – 42
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of High internal consistency and validity.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 2 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.