Advancing the Understanding of Suicide: The Need for Formal Theory and Rigorous Descriptive Research

Published on July 15, 2020

Suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide and perhaps the most puzzling and devastating of all human behaviors. Suicide research has primarily been guided by verbal theories containing vague constructs and poorly specified relationships. We propose two fundamental changes required to move toward a mechanistic understanding of suicide. First, we must formalize theories of suicide, expressing them as mathematical or computational models. Second, we must conduct rigorous descriptive research, prioritizing direct observation and precise measurement of suicidal thoughts and behaviors and of the factors posited to cause them.

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