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The number of suicide attempts have been on the rise with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting an increase of 60% since 1960. that suicide attempts have been on the rise. Are psychologists able to identifying the risk factors that influence people to take their own lives? Joseph Franklin from Florida State University say that the answer is no--predicting suicidal behaviors are no better than flipping a coin. In other words, even in the 21st century, psychologists are not better at determining if one will commit suicide than chance.
Why is this so after decades of research and studies? Well, the answer might lie in the methods that are used to understand suicidal behaviors. Many psychologists and studies only focus on few risk factors, like depression or low serotonin levels in the brain. However, the act of suicide is much more complex. It involves an intricate relationship between multiple factors of ones life. Suicide is not the product of an equation where A plus B plus C will give you the output. It is the dynamic model where A, B and C influence each other to the extent where an status is reached when an individual contemplates taking his life. This involves things like the level of influence or the individual's coping strategies to combat against a stressor.
In other words, everyone is different and what pushes one individual might not influence another at all. This is why it is so hard to predict one's suicidal behaviors. So does this mean psychologists and counselors should scrap all their work? No, but a re-evaluation should take place.
Source material from Research Digest