The Science Of Suicide: Researchers Work To Determine Who’s Most At Risk

wbur: 

BOSTON — Up on the 12th floor of a nondescript concrete building in Cambridge, about a dozen Harvard University researchers spend their days trying to crack the code on something that’s eluded scientists for decades.

“We’re really lacking in our ability to accurately predict suicidal behavior and to prevent it,” says psychology professor Matt Nock, who runs the so-called Nock Lab, which is focused entirely on suicide and self-harm. “We are really struggling with identifying which people who think about suicide go on to act on their suicidal thoughts and which ones don’t.”

Nock demonstrates a computer-based exercise he’s using in his research, known as the Implicit Association Test, or IAT. The test asks patients to quickly classify words related to life or death — such as “thriving” or “suicide” — as being like them or like other people.

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