WISCONSIN UNITED
for MENTAL HEALTH

Is it possible to predict suicide?
At the current time there is no definitive measure to predict suicide or suicidal behavior. Researchers have identified factors that place individuals at higher risk for suicide, but very few persons with these risk factors will actually commit suicide. Risk factors include mental illness, substance abuse, previous suicide attempts, family history of suicide, history of being sexually abused, and impulsive or aggressive tendencies. Suicide is a relatively rare event and it is therefore difficult to predict which persons with these risk factors will ultimately commit suicide.
From: FAQ About Suicide, National Institute of Mental Health


Suicide Prevention Programs
All suicide prevention programs need to be scientifically evaluated to demonstrate whether or not they work. Preventive interventions for suicide must also be complex and intensive if they are to have lasting effects. Most school-based, information-only, prevention programs focused solely on suicide have not been evaluated to see if they are effective, and research suggests that such programs may actually increase distress in the young people who are most vulnerable.15 School and community prevention programs designed to address suicide and suicidal behavior as part of a broader focus on mental health, coping skills in response to stress, substance abuse, aggressive behaviors, etc., are more likely to be successful in the long run.

Recognition and appropriate treatment of mental and substance abuse disorders also hold great suicide prevention value. For example, because most elderly suicide victims—70 percent—have visited their primary care physician in the month prior to their suicides,16 improving the recognition and treatment of depression in medical settings is a promising way to prevent suicide in older adults. Toward this goal, NIMH-funded researchers are currently investigating the effectiveness of a depression education intervention delivered to primary care physicians and their elderly patients.

15 Vieland V, Whittle B, Garland A, et al. The impact of curriculum-based suicide prevention programs for teenagers: an 18-month follow-up. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 1991; 30(5): 811-5.
16 Conwell, Y. Suicide in elderly patients. In: Schneider LS, Reynolds CF III, Lebowitz, BD, Friedhoff AJ, eds. Diagnosis and treatment of depression in late life. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 1994; 397-418.
In Harm's Way: Suicide in American, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH Publication No. 01-4594

NEW SAFE-T pocket card (Suicide Assessment Five-step Evaluation and Triage - .pdf)


Recent Research:
Kataoka S, Stein BD, Nadeem E, et al. 2007. Who gets care? Mental health service use following a school-based suicide prevention program. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 46(10):1341-1348. Abstract available at:
http://www.jaacap.com/pt/re/jaacap/abstract.00004583-200710000-00013.htm;jse
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External Links on Suicide Prevention
Wisconsin Suicide Prevention Strategy
National Strategy for Suicide Prevention
Suicide in the U.S.: Statistics and Prevention
HOPES (Helping Others Prevent and Educate about Suicide - a Madison-based non-profit organization)
Mental Health America of Wisconsin (recipient of the federal Garrett Lee Smith youth suicide prevention initiative grant)
NEW Best Practices Registry for Suicide Prevention (Suicide Prevention Resource Center Website - click on link in right hand column)