suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally ending your life.

There are three levels of intervention in suicide; 1) universal 2) selective and 3) indicated.

Universal interventions target everyone in a defined population. They aim to increase awareness about suicide, remove barriers to care, promote help-seeking and encourage protective factors. Some examples of universal interventions include school-based interventions and national initiatives such as restricted access to lethal means. Evidence suggests that universal interventions are effective at increasing awareness and helping skills, though there is little evidence to suggest they’re effective at reducing suicide-related thoughts or behaviours.

Selective interventions address specific groups at increased risk for suicidal behaviours, for instance those with mental health problems or harmful use of substances. To date, there have been few studies into selective interventions and results are mixed.

Indicated interventions target high-risk individuals already displaying signs of suicidal behaviour. Examples include brief contact interventions (e.g. crisis cards) and talking therapies. Evidence suggests that brief contact interventions are effective for young people in clinical settings. A network meta-analysis conducted in 2021 found that the most effective talking therapies for suicide and self-harm in young people are dialectical behavioural therapies and mentalisation-based therapies.

 

Our suicide Blogs

Predicting suicide attempts in adolescents: machine learning is powerful, but don’t forget Bayes’ rule

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Derek de Beurs explores a recent study that uses longitudinal clinical data and machine learning to predict suicide attempts in adolescents.

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Integrated Motivational Volitional model of suicidal behaviour #WSPD18

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Today Alexandra Pitman and Lisa Marzano help us understand the IMV model of suicidal behaviour; a comprehensive theoretical model of suicidal behaviour, which has recently been updated by Professor Rory O’Connor of the Glasgow University Suicide Research Laboratory.

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Does self-harm in young people increase the risk of subsequent suicide?

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Pooky Knightsmith picks apart a recent Swedish cohort study, which found that all youths presenting to a clinical setting with self-harm were at an elevated future risk of suicide.

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Asking about suicide does not cause harm, in fact it may help

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Pooky Knightsmith considers the benefits and risks of asking research participants about suicide in this important blog, which summarises a recent meta-analysis on the impact of exposure to suicide-related content.

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Suicide risk following childhood interpersonal violence

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Katrina Witt considers the findings of a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies, which looks at exposure to interpersonal violence in childhood, and the impact that it may have on risk of suicide in young people.

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Man Up: using social media to tackle male suicide

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Jonny Benjamin blogs about a recent evaluation of the Australian Man Up multimedia campaign, which aimed to influence the online conversation about masculinity and suicide.

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SSRIs and suicidality: effects of SSRIs on rating-scale-assessed suicidality in adults with depression

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Rina Dutta and Patrick McLaughlin summarise a new study looking at the effects of SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) on rating-scale-assessed suicidality in adults with depression.

This study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry supports the conclusion that SSRIs remain a safe and effective treatment in depression for those aged 18 and over.

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Mental illness and neurobiological correlates in the transgender population

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Dean Connolly publish their debut blog on a literature review of transgender research, which reports on the prevalence of mental illness in the transgender population.

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Prevention and early intervention for youth mental illness: how should we focus our limited resources? #MQScienceMeeting

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André Tomlin presents a summary of all the evidence we have highlighted over the last 3 years relating to prevention and early intervention for mental illness in young people.

This blog accompanies the #MQScienceMeeting coverage this week, which you can follow on Twitter.

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Blended therapy for men who self-harm #DigiMHweek

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Olivia Kirtley looks at a qualitative study of a blended therapy using problem solving therapy with a customised smartphone app in men who present to hospital with intentional self-harm.

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