Klonsky, E. D., May, A. M., & Saffer, B. Y. (2016). Suicide, Suicide Attempts, and Suicidal Ideation. Annual review of clinical psychology, 12, 307–330. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-093204
Summary
- Suicidal behavior is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. A growing body of research and suicide theory is advancing knowledge and prevention.
- One key development is the ideation-to-action framework, which stipulates that (a) the development of suicidal ideation and (b) the progression from ideation to suicide attempts are distinct phenomena with distinct explanations and predictors.
- Another key development is the proliferation of theories of suicide that are positioned within the ideation-to-action framework. These include interpersonal theory, the integrated motivational-volitional model, and the three-step theory. These perspectives are expected to and are capable of informing the next generation of suicide research and prevention.
Key Takeaways
Idation-to-action framework
- To better understand suicide, Klonsky & May (2014) proposed the ideation-to-action framework. From this perspective, the development of suicidal ideation and the progression from suicide ideation to attempts should be viewed as distinct processes with distinct predictors and explanations.
- (implication 1) The framework stops the studies from comparing attempters to ideators, which have been practiced traditionally by comparing suicide attempters to a non-suicidal group.
- (implication 2) The framework also represents a departure from traditional approaches to suicide theory. Traditional suicide theories have emphasized figuring out related factors, which has the limitation that they do not offer separate explanations for the development of suicidal ideation and the profession form ideation to attempts.
Theories positioned within the ideation-to-action framework
- Mainly, there are three theories of suicide positioned within the ideation-to-action framework: The interpersonal theory of suicide, the Integrated motivational-volitional theory, and the three-step theory of suicide.
