Science News about Suicide Prevention

Emergency Department Suicide Screening Tool Accurately Predicts At Risk Youth

Science Update • January 04, 2013

Time-crunched ER nurses and doctors can use four questions to screen youth at risk for attempting suicide.

Many Teens Considering Suicide Do Not Receive Specialized Mental Health Care

Science Update • October 12, 2012

Many teens who are thinking about or who have attempted suicide often do not see a mental health professional.

President Obama Signs Executive Order to Improve Access to Mental Health Services for Veterans, Service Members, and Military FamiliesExternal Link: Please review our disclaimer.

Science Update • August 31, 2012

President Obama signed an Executive Order directing key federal departments to expand suicide prevention strategies and take steps to meet the current and future demand for mental health and substance abuse treatment services for veterans, service members, and their families.

Widely Used Screening Tool Shown to Successfully Predict Suicide Attempts

Science Update • November 10, 2011

A widely used suicide screening tool can help determine who is most at risk for suicide by pinpointing the threshold at which a person’s suicidal thinking is severe enough to warrant professional intervention, according to a recent study published online ahead of print November 8, 2011, in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

White House Names NIMH a “Champion of Change” for its Suicide Prevention Efforts

Science Update • September 01, 2011

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) was named by the White House as a “Champion of Change” on August 25, 2011, for its efforts in supporting research on suicide prevention.

Army STARRS Preliminary Data Reveal Some Potential Predictive Factors for Suicide

Science Update • March 22, 2011

Early examination of data from the U.S. Army’s Total Army Injury and Health Outcomes Database (TAIHOD) has revealed potential predictors of risk for suicide among soldiers. Preliminary results were provided by researchers leading the ongoing Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS). Army STARRS, a partnership between NIMH and the U.S. Army, is the largest study of mental health risk and resilience ever conducted among military personnel.

Air Force Suicide Prevention Program Reduces Suicide Rate

Science Update • July 07, 2010

A U.S. Air Force suicide prevention program is associated with reduced suicide rates among Air Force personnel during times in which the program was rigorously implemented and monitored, according to an NIMH-funded study published online ahead of print May 13, 2010, in the American Journal of Public Health.

New Grant Aims to Identify and Reduce Suicide Among Emergency Department Patients

Science Update • January 13, 2010

A new NIMH-funded grant aims to increase suicide detection and prevention efforts among patients who present with suicide risk factors in hospital emergency departments.

New Approach to Reducing Suicide Attempts Among Depressed Teens

Science Update • September 29, 2009

A novel treatment approach that includes medication plus a newly developed type of psychotherapy that targets suicidal thinking and behavior shows promise in treating depressed adolescents who had recently attempted suicide, according to a treatment development and pilot study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The study, described in three articles, was published in the October 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Evidence-Based Prevention is Goal of Largest Ever Study of Suicide in the Military

Press Release • July 16, 2009

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has announced that an interdisciplinary team of four research institutions will carry out the largest study of suicide and mental health among military personnel ever undertaken, with $50 million in funding from the U.S. Army. Study investigators aim to move quickly to identify risk and protective factors for suicide among soldiers and provide a science base for effective and practical interventions to reduce suicide rates and address associated mental health problems.

Recovery Funds Will Support Evaluation of Suicide Prevention Training

Press Release • May 22, 2009

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide grant support for the completion of a project under way to evaluate the effectiveness of a new training program for telephone crisis counselors at suicide hotline centers.

Black Teens, Especially Girls, at High Risk for Suicide Attempts

Science Update • April 10, 2009

Black American teens, especially females, may be at high risk for attempting suicide even if they have never been diagnosed with a mental disorder, according to researchers funded in part by NIMH. Their findings, based on responses from adolescent participants in the National Survey of American Life (NSAL), provide the first national estimates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (ideation) and suicide attempts in 13- to 17-year-old black youth in the United States. The study was published in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Suicidal Thinking May Be Predicted Among Certain Teens with Depression

Science Update • February 17, 2009

Certain circumstances may predict suicidal thinking or behavior among teens with treatment-resistant major depression who are undergoing second-step treatment, according to an analysis of data from an NIMH-funded study. The study was published online ahead of print February 17, 2009, in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Getting Closer to Personalized Treatment for Teens with Treatment-resistant Depression

Science Update • February 11, 2009

Some teens with treatment-resistant depression are more likely than others to get well during a second treatment attempt of combination therapy, but various factors can hamper their recovery, according to an NIMH-funded study published online ahead of print February 4, 2009, in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

NIMH, U.S. Army Sign MOA to Conduct Groundbreaking Suicide Research

Science Update • November 12, 2008

NIMH and the U.S. Army have entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to conduct research that will help the Army reduce the rate of suicides.

New Grant Aims to Reduce Rate of College Suicide by Helping Students Better Adjust

Science Update • October 31, 2008

A new grant funded by NIMH will test an intervention designed to prevent or reduce suicide among college students.

Genes Linked to Suicidal Thinking During Antidepressant Treatment

Press Release • September 27, 2007

Specific variations in two genes are linked to suicidal thinking that sometimes occurs in people taking the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressants, according to a large study led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Drops in SSRI prescription rates may coincide with increases in youth suicides

Science Update • September 19, 2007

A 2004 spike in suicide rates may have coincided with a drop in antidepressant prescriptions for youth, following warnings from U.S and European regulatory agencies that the medications might trigger suicidal thoughts.

Male Veterans Have Double the Suicide Rate of Civilians

Science Update • June 12, 2007

Male veterans in the general U.S. population are twice as likely as their civilian peers to die by suicide, a large study shows

Gene Variants Linked to Suicidal Thoughts in Some Men Starting Antidepressant Treatment

Science Update • June 07, 2007

Some men who experience suicidal thoughts and behaviors after they first start taking antidepressant medications may be genetically predisposed to do so, according to the latest results from the NIMH-funded Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study

New Data on Suicidal Behaviors in Black Americans May Guide Interventions

Science Update • December 13, 2006

The prevalence of attempted suicide among black Americans is higher than previously reported, but near the levels reported for the general population.

New NIMH Research Strives to Understand How Antidepressants May Be Associated with Suicidal Thoughts and Actions

Science Update • November 13, 2006

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health, is funding five new research projects that will shed light on antidepressant medications, notably selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and their association with suicidal thoughts and actions.

U.S. Youth Suicide Rates Lower in Counties with High SSRI Use

Science Update • November 08, 2006

For children ages five to 14, suicide rates from 1996 to 1998 were lower in areas of the country with higher rates of antidepressant prescriptions, according to an NIMH-funded study published in the November 2006 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Targeted Therapy Halves Suicide Attempts in Borderline Personality Disorder

Science Update • July 03, 2006

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) reduced suicide attempts by half compared with other types of psychotherapy available in the community in patients with borderline personality disorder, an NIMH-funded study has found.

Cognitive Therapy Reduces Repeat Suicide Attempts by 50 Percent

Press Release • August 02, 2005

Recent suicide attempters treated with cognitive therapy were 50 percent less likely to try to kill themselves again within 18 months than those who did not receive the therapy, report researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Care Managers” Help Depressed Elderly Reduce Suicidal Thoughts

Press Release • March 02, 2004

An intervention that includes staffing doctors’ offices with depression care managers helps depressed elderly patients reduce suicidal thoughts, a study funded by NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has found.