Research finding · November 2023
Specific stressful life events are associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors
There has long been an association between stressful life events (SLEs) and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, many of the studies that established this association have contained considerable gaps, rarely looking at psychiatric inpatients and lacking specificity in terms of what types of SLEs were connected to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. More research has been needed on SLEs in order to help direct clinicians’ attention when certain stressful live events occur to individuals they are treating.
To address this, Dr. Igor Galynker and his team assessed 1,058 psychiatric patients (both inpatient and outpatient) for 22 separate stressful live events and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in the past three months. Dr. Galynker found that SLEs were common, with almost 65% of individuals reporting them. He also found an association between three specific SLEs and both recent and prospective suicidal thoughts and behaviors: interpersonal rejection and loss, homelessness, and academic failure. This is a signal to clinicians, family, and friends to check in if someone they are treating or know is experiencing stressful events.
Citation: Cohen, L. J., Hernandez, M., Mokhtar, R., Richards, J., Bloch-Elkouby, S., Rogers, M. L., & Galynker, I. (2023). Stressful Life Events and Near-term Suicidal Risk in a Clinical Population. The Psychiatric quarterly, 94(3), 467–482. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-023-10038-7
This finding comes from an AFSP-funded study — see the grant below ↓
