The benefits and risks of asking research participants about suicide: A meta-analysis of the impact of exposure to suicide-related content

One obstacle potentially hindering research on suicide is the assumption that assessing suicide may make individuals more likely to engage in suicidal thoughts or behaviours; a concern expressed by ethics committees, researchers, and clinicians. However, decisions which are overly cautious and restr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical psychology review 2018-08, Vol.64, p.1-12
Main Authors: Blades, Caroline A., Stritzke, Werner G.K., Page, Andrew C., Brown, Julia D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ethical framework
Humans
Institutional review boards
Research Subjects - psychology
Risk Assessment
Risk Factors
Risk-benefit assessment
Suicide - psychology
Suicide research
Suicide, Attempted - psychology
Vulnerable research participants
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Summary:One obstacle potentially hindering research on suicide is the assumption that assessing suicide may make individuals more likely to engage in suicidal thoughts or behaviours; a concern expressed by ethics committees, researchers, and clinicians. However, decisions which are overly cautious and restrictive when approving research proposals will hinder important research in this area. The present aim was to conduct a meta-analysis to examine whether asking about suicide or exposure to suicide-related content in research studies led to changes in participants' levels of distress, suicidal ideation, or suicide attempts. A systematic search of peer-reviewed and unpublished literature from 2000 to 2017 identified 18 studies. Exposure to suicide-related content led to significant, albeit small, reductions in suicidal ideation (g = −0.13, p 
ISSN:0272-7358
1873-7811
DOI:10.1016/j.cpr.2018.07.001