A Cross-National Tool for Assessing and Studying Suicidal Behaviors

Abstract

Current methodologies employed in collecting data for suicide research present several limitations. In this article, we describe a novel method and tool to prospectively study suicidal behavior and its related risk and protective factors in different countries. This tool is a web-based database, which will initially be developed and piloted by suicide research groups from Austria, Brazil, Chile, France, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, and the US. The database will develop and integrate research tools key to collaboration, permit exploration of ethical considerations, and provide a universal interface in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, and German that will make it possible to incorporate new groups from different countries to the network. The common database resulting of this cross-national effort will allow researchers to share and compare data across countries in a large sample of patients. Using anonymous electronic records of patients, we will: 1) determine the impact of risk and protective factors (viz. aggression and religious affiliation) in different socio-cultural environments; 2) develop a clinical model of suicidal behavior that integrates the multiple dimensions implicated; 3) try differentiating the effects of biological, environmental, and cultural factors on suicidal behavior, and 4) offer the global psychiatric research community a tool that will standardize assessment across nations, allowing for better generalization.

Predicting Suicide Attempt Risk in Older Adults

“…Yet this also represents a handicap for social and healthcare professionals, as depressive symptomatology in this group of patients is highly heterogeneous in nature (diffuse complaints, poor hygiene habits, and feeding difficulties), which can complicate its detection by social community and primary and specialist healthcare services [11], thus going unnoticed by family members and professionals. On the one hand, the results of this study confirm the findings of earlier research on this issue [18]; and on the other hand, they also inform about how suffering from depression, alongside physical pathologies, predicts future suicide reattempt in people who have attempted suicide once before. As such, prevention and intervention initiatives that address depressive symptomatology and physical pathologies in older adults who exhibit previous suicide vulnerability is of particular social and healthcare interest, given that these aspects can encourage suicide planning.…”

Resilience Assessment Scale for the Prediction of Suicide Reattempt in Clinical Population

“…Specifically, a suicide attempt can predict future more lethal reattempts or death by suicide, especially between 6 and 12 months after the first attempt ( Borges et al, 2010 ; Chan et al, 2016 ). However, the epigenetic and multidimensional nature of suicidal behavior makes its prevention difficult ( Wasserman et al, 2010 ), due in part to the fact that repeated behaviors are deeply modulated by risk factors such as sex, age ( Sánchez-Teruel et al, 2018 ), and sociocultural factors ( Lopez-Castroman et al, 2015a ).…”

“… Villalobos-Galvis et al (2012) translated this instrument into Spanish, but they only applied it to young adults in Colombia without previous suicide attempts. Therefore, the suicide attempt would be a culturally modulated behavior ( Lopez-Castroman et al, 2015a ; Lester et al, 2020 ) and the protective factors that produce resilience could be different depending on the adverse situation suffered ( Masten, 2016 , 2019 ; Sher, 2019a ). Considering that the few existing measuring instruments present some structural limitations ( Gutierrez et al, 2012 ), the need to create appropriate instruments to measure resilience, based on protective factors and culturally adapted to the Spanish population with a previous suicide attempt, is evident.…”

Universal mental health screening with a focus on suicidal behaviour using smartphones in a Mexican rural community: protocol for the SMART-SCREEN population-based survey

“…This app is in use since 2014 and was developed to enhance access to clinical information for mental healthcare professionals and patients, with both clinical management and research purposes. 38 39 The MeMind app is programmed to send anonymous reports to participants, via the app or registration through e-mail, in an automatic procedure that requires no active intervention by professionals and is compliant with the recommendations of mental healthcare professionals.…”