Linehan‚ 1996
1. I have a responsibility and commitment to my family.
2. I believe I can learn to adjust or cope with my problems.
3. I believe I have control over my life and destiny.
4. I have a desire to live.
5. I believe only God has the right to end a life.
6. I am afraid of death.
7. My family might believe I did not love them.
8. I do not believe that things get miserable or hopeless enough that I would rather be dead.
9. My family depends upon me and needs me.
10.I do not want to die.
11.I want to watch my children as they grow.
12.Life is all we have and is better than nothing.
13.I have future plans I am looking forward to carrying out.
14.No matter how badly I feel‚ I know that it will not last.
15.I am afraid of the unknown.
16.I love and enjoy my family too much and could not leave them.
17.I want to experience all that life has to offer and there are many experiences I haven’t had yet which I want to have.
18.I am afraid that my method of killing myself would fail.
19.I care enough about myself to live.
20.Life is too beautiful and precious to end it.
21.It would not be fair to leave the children for others to take care of.
22.I believe I can find other solutions to my problems.
23.I am afraid of going to hell.
24.I have a love of life.
25.I am too stable to kill myself.
26.I am a coward and do not have the guts to do it.
27.My religious beliefs forbid it.
28.The effect on my children could be harmful.
29.I am curious about what will happen in the future.
30.It would hurt my family too much and I would not want them to suffer.
31.I am concerned about what others would think of me.
32.I believe everything has a way of working out for the best.
33.I could not decide where‚ when‚ and how to do it.
34.I consider it morally wrong.
35.I still have many things left to do.
36.I have the courage to face life.
37.I am happy and content with my life.
38.I am afraid of the actual “act” of killing myself (the pain‚ blood‚ violence).
39.I believe killing myself would not really accomplish or solve anything.
40.I have hope that things will improve and the future will be happier.
41.Other people would think I am weak and selfish.
42.I have an inner drive to survive.
43.I would not want people to think I did not have control over my life.
44.I believe I can find a purpose in life‚ a reason to live.
45.I see no reason to hurry death along.
46.I am so inept that my method would not work.
47.I would not want my family to feel guilty afterwards.
48.I would not want my family to think I was selfish or a coward.
49.I would not be able to see the effect of my death on others.
50.Close friends depend upon me and need me.
51.I can find meaning in suffering.
52.There are friends I enjoy and love too much to leave.
53.I have too much pride in myself.
54.Rational people do not kill themselves.
55.If I were depressed enough to want to die‚ I would be too depressed to kill myself.
56.I make a contribution to society.
57.Society disapproves of killing myself.
58.I have people who love me and who would listen to and understand me.
59.I see no reason to die and let someone else enjoy the things I worked for.
60.It is a sign of weakness and I don’t want to be a quitter or a failure.
61.I am afraid that my death would not matter to anyone.
62.The finality of the act would stop me.
63.It would be too much of an embarrassment to my family.
64.It would hurt my close friends too much.
65.There are obligations I feel I should keep.
66.I would think of others worse off than myself.
67.I have a job in which I am involved and where I am needed.
68.I have a responsibility and commitment to my friends.
69.I would know I probably was not serious and it was just a passing thought.
70.Experiencing unhappiness is an important part of life.
71.I would stop feeling sorry for myself.
72.The thought of suicide is totally incomprehensible to me.
Linehan et al‚ 1983
1. I have a responsibility and commitment to my family.
2. I believe I can learn to adjust or cope with my problems.
3. I believe I have control over my life and destiny.
4. I have a desire to live.
5. I believe only God has the right to end a life.
6. I am afraid of death.
7. My family might believe I did not love them.
8. I do not believe that things get miserable or hopelessenough that I would rather be dead.
9. My family depends upon me and needs me.
10.I do not want to die.
11.I want to watch my children as they grow.
12.Life is all we have and is better than nothing.
13.I have future plans I am looking forward to carrying out.
14.No matter how badly I feel‚ I know that it will not last.
15.I am afraid of the unknown.
16.I love and enjoy my family too much and could not leave them.
17.I want to experience all that life has to offer and there are many experiences I haven’t had yet whichI want to have.
18.I am afraid that my method of killing myself would fail.
19.I care enough about myself to live.
20.Life is too beautiful and precious to end it.
21.It would not be fair to leave the children for others to take care of.
22.I believe I can find other solutions to my problems.
23.I am afraid of going to hell.
24.I have a love of life.
25.I am too stable to kill myself.
26.I am a coward and do not have the guts to do it.
27.My religious beliefs forbid it.
28.The effect on my children could be harmful.
29.I am curious about what will happen in the future.
30.It would hurt my family too much and I would not want them to suffer.
31.I am concerned about what others would think of me.
32.I believe everything has a way of working out for the best.
33.I could not decide where‚ when and how to do it.
34.I consider it morally wrong.
35.I still have many things left to do.
36.I have the courage to face life.
37.I am happy and content with my life.
38.I am afraid of the actual “act” of killing myself (the pain‚ blood‚ violence).
39.I believe killing myself would not really accomplish or solve anything.
40.I have hope that things will improve and the future will be happier.
41.Other people would think I am weak and selfish.
42.I have an inner drive to survive.
43.I would not want people to think I did not have control over my life.
44.I believe I can find a purpose in life‚ a reason to live.
45.I see no reason to hurry death along.
46.I am so inept that my method would not work.
47.I would not want my family to feel guilty afterwards.
48.I would not want my family to think I was selfish or a coward.
The brief Reasons for Living Inventory
Linehan and Osman et al‚ 1996
Fear of Social Disapproval (FSD)
1. I am concerned about what others would think of me.
2. Other people would think I am weak and selfish.
3. I would not want people to think I did not have control over my life.
Moral Objections (MO)
4. I believe only God has the right to end a life.
5. My religious beliefs forbid it.
6. I consider it morally wrong.
Survival and Coping Beliefs (SCB)
7. I believe I can find other solutions to my problems.
8. I believe everything has a way of working out for the best.
9. I have the courage to face life.
Responsibility to Family (RF)
10.My family depends upon me and needs me.
11.I love and enjoy my family too much and amid not leave them.
12.It would hurt my family too much and I would not want them to suffer.
Fear of Suicide (FS)
13.I am afraid of death.
14.I am afraid of the unknown.
Reason for Living Inventory for Adolescents (RFL-A)
Osman et al‚ 1998
1. Whenever I have a problem‚ I can turn to my family for support or advice.
2. It would be painful and frightening to take my own life.
3. I accept myself for what I am.
4. I have a lot to look forward to as I grow older.
5. My friends stand by me whenever I have a problem.
6. I feel loved and accepted by my close friends.
7. I feel emotionally close to my family.
8. I am afraid to die‚ so I would not consider killing myself.
9. I like myself just the way I am.
10.My friends care a lot about me.
11.I would like to accomplish my plans or goals in the future.
12.My family takes the time to listen to my experiences at school‚ work‚ or home.
13.I expect many good things to happen to me in the future.
14.I am satisfied with myself.
15.I am hopeful about my plans or goals for the future.
16.I believe my friends appreciate me when I am with them.
17.I enjoy being with my family.
18.I feel that I am an OK person.
19.I expect to be successful in the future.
20.The thought of killing myself scares me.
21.I am afraid of using any method to kill myself.
22.I can count on my friends to help if I have a problem.
23.Most of the time‚ my family encourages and supports my plans or goals.
24.My family cares about the way I feel.
25.My future looks quite hopeful and promising.
26.I am afraid of killing myself.
27.My friends accept me for what I really am.
28.I have many plans I am looking forward to carrying out in the future.
29.I feel good about myself.
30.My family cares a lot about what happens to me.
31.I am happy with myself.
32.I would be frightened or afraid to make plans for killing myself.
1= Not At All Important (as a reason for not killing myself‚ or‚ does not apply to me‚ I don’t believe this at all)‚ 2= Quite Unimportant‚ 3= Somewhat Unimportant‚ 4= Somewhat Important‚ 5= Quite Important‚ 6= Extremely Important (as a reason for not killing myself‚ I believe this very much and it is very important).
The 48 items RFL version:
Survival and Coping Beliefs (2‚ 3‚ 4‚ 8‚ 10‚ 11‚ 13‚ 14‚ 17‚ 19‚ 20‚ 22‚ 24‚ 25‚ 29‚ 32‚ 35‚ 36‚ 37‚ 39‚ 40‚ 44‚ 45)‚ Responsibility to Family (1‚ 7‚ 9‚ 11‚ 16‚ 21‚ 28‚ 30‚ 47‚ 48)‚ Fear of Suicide (6‚ 15‚18‚ 26‚ 33‚ 38‚ 46)‚ Fear of Social Disapproval (31‚ 41‚ 43)‚ Moral Objections (5‚ 27‚ 23‚ 34)
The 32 items RFL-A version
Future Optimism (FO: 4‚ 11‚ 13‚ 15‚ 19‚ 25‚ 28)‚ Suicide-Related Concerns (SRC: 2‚ 8‚ 20‚ 21‚ 26‚ 32)‚ Family Alliance (FA: 1‚ 7‚ 12‚ 17‚ 23‚ 24‚ 30)‚ Peer Acceptance and Support (PAS: 5‚ 6‚ 10‚ 16‚ 22‚ 27)‚ and Self-Acceptance (SA: 3‚ 9‚ 14‚ 18‚ 29‚ 31).
This instrument can be found at: http://depts.washington.edu/uwbrtc/wp-content/uploads/Reasons-for-Living-Scale-long-form-72-items.pdf & on line at: http://farmacologiaclinica.info/scales/rfl-48/ & The Reasons for Living Inventory & Fischer‚ Joel.‚ Corcoran‚ Kevin J. (2007). Measures for Clinical Practice and research: A sourcebook. (4th ed.). NY. Oxford University Pr. Vol. 1‚ Page (s): 592-594.
Linehan‚ M. M. (1981). Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire. Unpublished inventory‚ University of Washington‚ Seattle‚ Washington.
Linehan‚ M. M.‚ Goodstein‚ J. L.‚ Nielsen‚ S. L.‚ & Chiles‚ J. A. (1983). Reasons for staying alive when you are thinking of killing yourself: The Reasons for Living Inventory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology‚ 51‚ 276–286.
Osman‚ A.‚ Jones‚ K.‚ & Osman‚ J. R. (1991). The Reasons for Living Inventory: Psychometric properties. Psychological Reports‚ 69‚ 271–278.
Osman‚ A.‚ Gregg‚ C. L.‚ Osman‚ J. R.‚ & Jones‚ K. (1992). Factor structure and reliability of the Reasons for Living Inventory. Psychological Reports‚ 70‚ 107– 112.
Osman‚ A.‚ Gifford‚ J.‚ Jones‚ T.‚ Lickiss‚ L.‚ Osman‚J.‚ & Wenzel‚ R. (1993). Psychometric evaluation of the Reasons for Living Inventory. Psychological Assessment‚ 5‚ 154–158.
Osman‚ A.‚ Kopper‚ B. A.‚ Francisco X. Barrios‚ F. X.‚ Osman‚ J. R.‚ Besett‚ T. M.‚ Linehan‚ M. M. (1996). The brief Reasons for Living Inventory for adolescents (BRFL-A). Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology‚ 24(4)‚ 433–443.
Osman‚ A.‚ Downs‚ W. R.‚ Kopper‚ B‚ A.‚ Barrios‚ F. X.‚ Baker‚ M. T.‚ Osman‚ J. R.‚ Besett‚ T. M.‚ Linehan‚ M. M. (1998). The Reasons for Living Inventory for Adolescents (RFL-A): development and psychometric properties. Journal of Clinical Psychology‚ 54(8):1063-1078.
Gutierrez‚ P. M.‚ Osman‚ A.‚ Kopper‚ B.‚ & Barrios‚ F. X. (2000). Why young people do not kill themselves: The Reasons For Living Inventory For Adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology‚ 47‚403-413.
Khodabakhshi koolaee‚ Anahita.‚ Mahmmodi‚ O.‚ Davaji‚ Rahmanberdi Ozuoni. (2008). Standardization of Reasons for Living Inventory for adolescents: Diagnosis‚ appraisal‚ therapy and rehabilitation of people who attempt to suicide. Iranian Rehabilitation Journal ‚ 6(7 &8) ‚47-58.