Harvard study predicts most suicide attempts a week in advance

netfortius

Harvard study authors never read Emil Cioran.

cobertos

Was very curious on what was meant by the following: > The study included a real-time alert system for intervening if a person indicated a high suicidal intent Because it sounds a bit dystopian. And found a little more about it[0] > For example, in our monitoring studies, we install smartphone apps on participants’ phones. These participants are often recruited from hospitals after presenting with high suicide risk. We tell them explicitly that we monitor responses during certain hours—for example, between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.—and that we will do our best to respond if we believe they are at imminent risk of harming themselves. ... > We have real-time alerts when someone crosses a predefined risk threshold, and we follow a very detailed protocol that specifies exactly what actions we take at each level of risk. But we want participants to understand that this is not a replacement for clinical care. We are not a “Minority Report” system that will swoop in and prevent harm in every case. [0]: https://primr.org/ethical-challenges-in-suicide-research/

danek_szy

The article mentions sensitivity, but I’m also curious about this method’s specificity too…

cypherpunks01

Unqualified use of the word "predicts" is a little bit of a stretch in this editorialized title. The study doesn't predict suicide attempts out of some type of biometric or otherwise observable data or surveillance information, it's predicting it from a self-survey. The actual journal article title tells the story much better: "Using smartphone surveys to predict next-week suicide attempts" https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fabn0001117

andsoitis

> real-time alert system for intervening if a person indicated a high suicidal intent Suicide is a right.

hirvi74

I'm curious what actions the app takes once a sufficient risk has been determined? Does the app or people managing the service just send paramilitary police units to SWAT people or what? I really don't see how this much different than something like calling/texting 988.

sillysaurusx

> 90 percent of people who survived a suicide attempt reported that they had been feeling an urge to alleviate psychological agitation and pain that turned out to be temporal — like “being in a burning room” or wanting to “shut everything off for a couple of days,” Nock said. I moved to Austin last week, away from my wife and 3yo daughter. It’s been torture. Today was the first time I could FaceTime with her without completely breaking down crying. One annoying part about suicide is that if you reveal to anyone that you want to stop living, they usually treat you like a big risk, or think you’re insane, or worry you might hurt them, or be uncomfortable to be around you anymore. Someone at a party was going through my key chain. “Mail key?” “Nope, gun key if I decide to blow my brains out.” That was basically the last time I talked to them. For a datapoint of n=1, my biggest factor motivating me to do it is the constant pain. It permeates your whole chest, all day, every day. I’ve been fortunate to make some friends here. But really, I just don’t want to continue living. In a way, it feels like being in a cult — everyone around me thinks life is so great, and that it’s so horrible if I cut it short. But cutting it short has so many benefits. No more job. No more boss. No more missing my family. No need to rebuild my life after 20 years. Like, truly, other than seeing my daughter again, I don’t have a reason to keep going. Playing games is fun, meeting people is nice… but I’m alone in a 700sqft apartment with some cereal and Dino nuggets, fantasizing about playing tag with my daughter, and being incredibly jealous that the man who replaced me gets to experience “my” family life every day. Suicide is appealing because life is hard. It’s so much effort. I just wish people wouldn’t cut me out for admitting it’s appealing, or try to force me into a hospital. I just want to be heard, not “helped.” These studies presume that suicide is treatable, and that it’s a “thing” that can be “fixed”. But it often isn’t. You want to rebuild my life for me and go to work every day? I’d give anything to be on autopilot in my own head, and just be asleep. I’m doing a little better. It’s just really hard, you know? I wish I could say “hey, I’ve had a good life. I’ve done a bunch of cool things. I’d like to call it quits please” without it being sacrilege. Anyway. I wish all of you a great night. Hug your kids or your SO for me.

Pannoniae

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it." - Upton Sinclair

awesome_dude

Alternative headline: participating in Harvard study found to have disturbing effects after one week

dataviz1000

They asked people who survived jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge what they were thinking on the way down. They all said they felt instant regret the moment they let go of the rail.

Vishal_Max

Just my perspective on this: A PhD student at my university recently died by suicide, and it made me realize that the way most of us cope or escape from difficult situations is shaped by what we consume, what we experience, and what we constantly see others doing. For most of us, that escape mechanism can be something else instead of taking such a drastic decision. If we can make sure people don’t grow up believing that suicide is even a way to cope with what has happened to them, we could significantly reduce the number of suicides. We only have one life. There’s no respawn. This world has so much to offer, and once we’re gone, we won’t get to experience any of the good things that are still ahead of us. So why not keep going?

pfdietz

I can predict 100% of suicides. I just predict every day that the person will commit suicide. Bam! All suicides predicted.

inemesitaffia

Anyone asked if their research itself precipitates suicide attempts?