Suicidal ideation mechanism is the psychological process of how thoughts of killing oneself emerge and persist in the mind. From the Mindsponge-based suicidal ideation mechanism perspective, there are two conditions for suicidal ideation to happen: (1) the existence of accessible suicide-related information in the environment, and (2) the subjective perception that suicide being a beneficial option. Psychosocial factors (e.g. social connectedness or burdensomeness) can affect these two conditions and, in turn, influence the probability of suicidal ideation

Le, Tam-Tri

Nguyen, Minh-Hoang

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Suicidal ideation mechanismSubjects: OthersContributors: Tam-Tri Le , Minh-Hoang Nguyen Submitted by: Tam-Tri LeDefinitionIntroductionSuicidal ideation is thinking about self-killing; in other words, suicidal ideation is the formation of suicidalthought(s) within one’s mind. However, currently, in the scientific community, there is no consensus onthe definition of suicidal ideation. Some definitions also include suicide planning while others do not. Thislack of a universal definition cause difficulties in comparing findings across related studies . Suicidalideation can be considered a prerequisite condition for deliberate suicidal actions to be carried out(including planning and attempting). Although suicidal ideation alone in itself is non-fatal, it increases therisk of suicidal attempts . However, the association between suicidal ideation and a suicidal attemptis still debatable. Recent developments in suicidal behavior studies have shown the distinction betweenthe formation of suicidal thoughts and the progression into suicide attempts as well as the distinctionbetween predictors of each phenomenon .Researchers have been trying to look for psychosocial risk factors of suicidal ideation (characteristics of asuicidal mind). In other words, they try to find the reasons why suicidal thoughts happen and establish theassociations between those factors and suicidal ideation.Early research approachesWhile inquiries about the causes of suicide have always existed throughout human history, the earlyapproaches presented here are in the context of modern scientific methodologies .Some early major works in the 19  century include The Lawful Regularity of Apparently Voluntary HumanActions Seen from the Standpoint of Statistics (Adolf Heinrich Gotthilf Wagner, 1864) , Suicide: An Essayon Comparative Moral Statistics (Enrico Morselli, 1887) , and the reviews of suicide research by DanielHack Tuke in 1892 . These early studies share the approach in which the statistics of suicide can bedirectly inferred to provide understanding about the phenomenon of suicide. They look for the patterns ofsuicidal acts within the statistics of suicide, such as statistical irregularities found in certain situations. Forexample, climatic conditions and seasonal temperatures are investigated as the risk factors for suicide.In 1897, the book Suicide: A study in sociology by Émile Durkheim  was published and later consideredas the foundation for modern suicidology. Durkheim emphasized the role of psychosocial factors insuicidality and categorized suicide into four types: egoistic, altruistic, anomic, and fatalistic. Egoistic andaltruistic suicides belong to the aspect of social integration (low and high level respectively) with majorfactors such as social connectedness and interconnectedness. Anomic and fatalistic suicides belong to theaspect of social regulation (low and high level respectively) with major factors such as anarchy and socialoppression. In such cases, suicide attempts are the expression of reaching an extreme level in thespectrum of social integration or regulation.Suicidal ideation mechanism is the psychological process of how thoughts of killing oneself emergeand persist in the mind. From the Mindsponge-based suicidal ideation mechanism perspective, thereare two conditions for suicidal ideation to happen: (1) the existence of accessible suicide-relatedinformation in the environment, and (2) the subjective perception that suicide being a beneficialoption. Psychosocial factors (e.g. social connectedness or burdensomeness) can affect these twoconditions and, in turn, influence the probability of suicidal ideation.[1][1][2][3][4]th[5][6][7][8]Contemporary theoriesSeveral major theories regarding suicide in modern times are listed below together with a summary oftheir main principles related to suicidal ideation.Economic theory of suicide (ETS) - Daniel S. Hamermesh and Neal M. Soss, 1974 Economic factors (e.g. unemployment) can be predictors for suicide.Network theory of suicide (NTS) - Bernice A. Pescosolido, and Sharon Georgianna, 1989 The theory focuses on the protective effect of religions and creating an elaborated networkinterpretation based on Durkheim’s theory.Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS) – Thomas Joiner, 2005 The combination of two interpersonal constructs - thwarted belongingness and perceivedburdensomeness - can cause a dangerous desire for suicide. The effect of perceived burdensomenesson suicide ideation was most supported in later studies while the effect of thwarted belongingness wasless supported .Fluid Vulnerability Theory (FVT) - Rudd David, 2006 The theory focuses on the dynamic interactions of risk factors in short and long term to form time-limited suicidal episodes which vary in duration and severity.Integrated Motivational–Volitional Model (IMV) – Rory O’Connor, 2011 The model comprises of three phases: pre-motivational, motivational, and volitional - whereas biosocialand motivational factors contribute to the formation of suicidal thoughts. Defeat and entrapment werestated as the main drives for suicidal ideation.Three-step Theory (3ST) – David Klonsky and Alexis May, 2015 Regarding suicidal ideation, the theory states that suicidal thoughts arise from pain combined withhopelessness and suicidal ideation in those suffering from pain and hopelessness may escalate in theabsence of social connectedness.Emerging information-processing-based theoryTo explore deeper into the “how” aspect of suicidal ideation and develop a framework that is consistentwith former widely supported theories and findings, Nguyen et al. propose the suicidal ideationmechanism  based on the Mindsponge theory of information processing .According to this mechanism, there are two fundamental conditions for suicidal thoughts to emerge andpersist within the mind: (1) suicide-related information needs to exist in the surrounding environment and(2) the value of suicide needs to be perceived as “beneficial” (in other words the suicide-relatedinformation must be accepted by the current mindset). It is important to note that this acceptance variesin belief strength. The acceptance is temporary or partial at a low level of suicide desire. If the value ofsuicide is reinforced enough and become deeply integrated into the mindset, the decision to carry out thecorresponding behavior (suicide attempt) may occur.As one of the main principles of the Mindsponge framework states that a value is accepted when itsperceived benefit is greater than its perceived cost, in the context of suicidality, a person accepting thevalue of suicide into their mindset when he/she perceives suicide to have more benefit over its cost. Theperceived costs of suicide are the negative values attached to the act of suicide (e.g. biological death,impacts on social connections, the moral implication of self-killing, etc.). The perceived benefit of suicide[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] [20][21]is the cessation of suffering attached to the current and projected future state of living (e.g. physical orpsychological pain, etc.).In this information processing mechanism, the sense of connectedness can act as a trust factor (“prioritypass”) in the filtering process. A higher level of connectedness means easier reception and acceptance ofinformation from other people in society. It is worth noting that depending on the information sources andcontexts, this effect can be either positive (e.g. in cases of help-related information ) or negative (e.g.in cases of suicide contagion ). Similarly, other psychosocial factors can influence the probability ofsuicidal ideation by affecting the information accessibility of information supporting or negating suicidedesire as well as affecting the cost-benefit-based filtering processes of such information. For example, thepsycho-religious mechanism of suicide was developed based on the same principles with the interactionswith religiosity .[19][22][23]References1. Harmer B, Lee S, Duong TH, Saadabadi A. (2021). Suicidal Ideation. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK565877/2. Nock MK, Borges G, Bromet EJ, Cha CB, Kessler RC, Lee S. (2008). Suicide and Suicidal Behavior. EpidemiologicReviews, 30, 133-154. https://doi.org/10.1093/epirev/mxn0023. Klonsky ED, May AM, Saffer BY. (2016). Suicide, Suicide Attempts, and Suicidal Ideation. Annual Review of ClinicalPsychology, 12, 307-330. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-0932044. Nguyen THK. (2021). Rethinking suicide: From pre-Durkheim suicidology to contemporary theories [Preprint]. OpenScience Framework. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/vq6np5. Wagner AHG. (1864). Die Gesetzmaessigkeit in den Scheinbar Willkuerlichen Menschlichen Handlungen vomStandpunkte der Statistik. Boyes & Geisler.6. Morselli EA. (1883). Suicide: An essay on comparative moral statistics. CK Paul & Company.7. Tuke DH. (1892). A dictionary of psychological medicine: Giving the definition, etymology and synonyms of the termsused in medical psychology with the symptoms, treatment, and pathology of insanity and the law of lunacy in GreatBritain and Ireland. Blakiston.8. Durkheim E. (1951). Suicide: A study in sociology. Routledge.9. Hamermesh DS, Soss NM. (1974). An economic theory of suicide. Journal of Political Economy, 82, 83-98.https://www.jstor.org/stable/183090110. Pescosolido BA; Georgianna S. (1989). Durkheim, Suicide, and Religion: Toward a Network Theory of Suicide.American Sociological Review, 54, 33. https://doi.org/10.2307/209566011. Joiner T. (2005). Why people die by suicide. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.12. Joiner TE, Van Orden KA, Witte Tk, Selby EA, Ribeiro JD, Lewis R, Rudd MD. (2009). Main predictions of theinterpersonal–psychological theory of suicidal behavior: Empirical tests in two samples of young adults.. Journal ofAbnormal Psychology, 118, 634-646. https://doi.org/10.1037/a001650013. Van Orden KA, Witte TK, Cukrowicz KC, Braithwaite SR, Selby EA, Joiner TE. (2010). The interpersonal theory ofsuicide.. Psychological Review, 117, 575-600. https://doi.org/10.1037/a001869714. Ma J, Batterham PJ, Calear A, Han J. ( 2016). A systematic review of the predictions of the Interpersonal–PsychologicalTheory of Suicidal Behavior. Clinical Psychology Review, 46, 34-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2016.04.00815. Rudd MD. (2006). Fluid Vulnerability Theory: A Cognitive Approach to Understanding the Process of Acute and ChronicSuicide Risk. In Ellis TE (Ed.), Cognition and suicide: Theory, research, and therapy (pp. 355–368). AmericanPsychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/11377-01616. O'Connor RC. (2011). Towards an integrated motivational-volitional model of suicidal behaviour. In O'Connor RC, PlattS, Gordon J (Eds.), International handbook of suicide prevention: Research, policy and practice (pp. 181–198). WileyBlackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119998556.ch1117. O'connor RC, Kirtley O. (2018). The integrated motivational–volitional model of suicidal behaviour. PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 373, 20170268.https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.026818. Klonsky ED, May AM. (2015). The Three-Step Theory (3ST): A New Theory of Suicide Rooted in the “Ideation-to-Action”Framework. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 8, 114-129. https://doi.org/10.1521/ijct.2015.8.2.11419. Nguyen MH, Le TT, Nguyen HKT, Ho MT, Nguyen HTT, Vuong QH. (2021). Alice in Suicideland: Exploring the suicidalideation mechanism through the sense of connectedness and help-seeking behaviors. 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Warsaw, Poland: De Gruyter.Keywordssuicidal ideation;suicide theory;mental health;Mindsponge;suicidal ideation mechanism

Suicidal ideation mechanism

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