Objectives:
To perform an adaptation and psychometric validation of the Polish version of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) screen version in a clinical sample of patients admitted to the psychiatric hospital.

Methods:
This was a single-center, observational and cross-sectional study. A total of 318 consecutive patients completed a set of questionnaires upon their admission to acute psychiatric units. The set comprised C-SSRS screener and the reference measures: the Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire – Revised (SBQ-R), the Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale (SIDAS), the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale – Revised (CESD-R), the Scale of Psychache, the Purpose in Life scale (PIL), and alcohol misuse screen test (CAGE).

Results:
Cronbach’s α of the C-SSRS was 0.89. Two latent components were identified in the factor analysis: (1) suicidal thoughts, intentions and plans, and (2) history of suicidal attempts. There were differences in the mean scores of all the utilized questionnaires (namely, SBQ-R, the Psychache scale, CAGE, SIDAS, PIL and CESD-R) between the C-SSRS risk groups (p=0.01). The C-SSRS risk group was associated with the category of the primary psychiatric diagnosis (p<0.001).

Conclusions:
The Polish version of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale screener is a questionnaire with good psychometric features to assess the suicidal risk among psychiatric in-patients. It can be used for the purposes of a routine assessment of suicidal risk among hospitalized patients.