Addressing momentary risk of suicidal behaviors in youth

The project aims to ensure that young people with a history of recent self-harm or suicide attempt receive the right support at the right time. The researchers focus on improving the understanding of risk factors that lead to self-harm and suicide attempts, as well as evaluating treatments designed to prevent new episodes of suicidal behavior.

Suicide is the leading cause of death among teenagers in Sweden. Each suicide or suicide attempt has profound effects on individuals, families, and society. Today, reliable methods to predict self-harm and suicide attempts among adolescents are lacking. Furthermore, there is a lack of evidence-based treatments for suicidality that can be implemented on a large scale.

In this project, smartphones equipped with sensors capable of measuring users’ everyday activity and habits, so-called digital phenotyping, will be used. By analyzing these data, aims principal investigator Johan Bjurberg, to improve and advance the prediction of self-harm and then use the information to develop an adaptive intervention targeting momentary risk factors for youth at high risk of self-harm and suicide attempts.

The project will be carried out in close collaboration with patients. Randomized controlled trials including will be conducted to evaluate treatments for adolescents who have recently engaged in self-harm or attempted suicide and who remain at high risk for future self-harm.

Bjureberg emphasizes that a better understanding of momentary risk factors and the processes leading to self-harm and suicide attempts, together with the evaluation of interventions that can reduce the risk, is crucial for enabling early support and preventing self-harm and suicide deaths.