Suicide and Self-Harm Studies

Suicide and self-harm research examines who is at risk of ending or injuring their own life, why, and what can be done to intervene — drawing on epidemiological data, clinical assessment, and psychological theory to build that understanding. Work in this area spans population-level mortality patterns and fine-grained studies of individual cases, including psychological autopsies that reconstruct the circumstances preceding a death, as well as targeted investigation of adolescents, who face a distinct constellation of social, developmental, and neurobiological vulnerabilities. Frameworks such as the interpersonal theory of suicide — which centers thwarted belonging and perceived burdensomeness as proximate drivers — have shaped both how clinicians assess risk and how prevention programs are designed. Active questions include how to distinguish non-suicidal self-injury from behavior that carries genuine lethal intent, and which interventions hold up across the diverse cultural and healthcare contexts in which suicidal crises occur.

Works

107,214

Total citations

1,764,780

Keywords

SuicideSuicidal BehaviorPrevention StrategiesRisk FactorsAdolescentsPsychological Autopsy