Introduction:

The internal structure or dimensionality, and the internal consistency of health measurement scales vary in each population. It is necessary to study these characteristics of the Okasha´s Suicidality Scale (OSS) in the Colombian context.

Objective:

To explore the dimesionality and internal consistency of the OSS among students from Santa Marta, Colombia.

Method:

A validation study was performed. 91 students with ages between 14 and 19 years participated; and 65,9 % were women. The students completed the OSS, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Dimensionality was explored by confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA). The BDI was used for convergence and RSES for divergence.

Results:

The OSS showed scores between 0 and 12 (M = 3,3; SD = 3,1). It was identified one responsible dimension of 69,1 % of the variance. Adjustment indicators in the factorial analysis were adequate. Cronbach alpha and McDonald omega for OSS were 0,85. The correlation with the BDI was rs = 0,68 and the correlation with the RSES, r = -0,53.

Conclusions:

The OSS presents a one-dimension internal structure and excellent internal consistency as is expected from a tool only formed by four items. Previous studies that informed on the performance of OSS did not inform the factorial structure due to not carrying out an exploratory or confirmatory factorial analysis. More studies are needed.

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