Social exclusion, thwarted belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness: construct validity and psychometric properties of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire among patients with sexually transmitted infections in Shanghai, China

Abstract Background Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a serious public health problem worldwide. Patients with STIs have a high rate of psychosocial problems and may perceive unmet interpersonal needs, which is considered a proximal and sufficient cause of suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The present study examined the construct validity and psychometric properties of the 15-item Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire among patients with STIs in Shanghai, China. Methods We recruited 910 patients with STIs (438 males and 472 females; mean age = 38.72, standard deviation [SD] = 13.034) from the Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital using accidental sampling. Baseline descriptive statistics were calculated using R 4.0.0, and a latent variable model was developed using Mplus 7.4. Results The construct validity results supported a latent variable measurement model with three distinct but related constructs (thwarted belongingness, perceived burdensomeness, and social exclusion) (p