Citation

Fortgang RG, Wang SB, Millner AJ, Reid-Russell A, Beukenhorst AL, Kleiman EM, Bentley KH, Zuromski KL, Al-Suwaidi M, Bird SA, Buonopane R, DeMarco D, Haim A, Joyce VW, Kastman EK, Kilbury E, Lee HIS, Mair P, Nash CC, Onnela JP, Smoller JW, Nock MK. Clinical Psychological Science 2021; 9(3): 482-488.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Association for Psychological Science, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/2167702621993857

PMID

38602997

PMCID

PMC7967020

Abstract

There is concern that the COVID-19 pandemic may cause increased risk of suicide. In the current study, we tested whether suicidal thinking has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether such thinking was predicted by increased feelings of social isolation. In a sample of 55 individuals recently hospitalized for suicidal thinking or behaviors and participating in a 6-month intensive longitudinal smartphone monitoring study, we examined suicidal thinking and isolation before and after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency in the United States. We found that suicidal thinking increased significantly among adults (odds ratio [OR] = 4.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [3.28, 4.90], p <.001) but not adolescents (OR = 0.84, 95% CI = [0.69, 1.01], p =.07) during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased feelings of isolation predicted suicidal thinking during the pandemic phase. Given the importance of social distancing policies, these findings support the need for digital outreach and treatment.

Language: en

Keywords

interpersonal interaction; longitudinal methods; suicide prevention