Harvard study predicts most suicide attempts a week in advance
Harvard researchers have developed a new model that predicts 75 percent of suicide attempts and 87 percent of suicide-related crises within a week of their occurrence. This breakthrough aims to address the limitations of current clinical systems that rely on infrequent, scheduled appointments.
Why it matters
Improving the ability to predict suicide attempts could revolutionize mental health intervention and save lives by allowing for timely, proactive clinical support.
News from Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Research led by psychologist Matthew Nock forecasts 75 percent of suicide attempts and 87 percent of suicide-related crises before they occurred — a marked leap beyond existing prediction models
As a leading researcher on suicide, Matthew K. Nock knows the subject’s grim statistics by heart. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Americans aged 10 to 34, trailing only accidents. It claims more lives around the world each year than war, genocide, homicide, and all other violence combined. And 50 percent of people who died by suicide saw a clinician in their final month, according to multiple studies in recent decades, including Nock’s own research .
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