Category: Suicide and Self-Injury
Rebecca G Fortgang, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Christine Moutier, M.D.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
New York, New York
Sherry Stewart, Ph.D.
Professor
Dalhousie University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Nicholas Jacobson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dartmouth College
Lebanon, New Hampshire
Rebecca G Fortgang, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Thomas Mitchell, B.A., M.D.
Yale University School of Medicine
Hamden, Connecticut
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a devastating and deadly global phenomenon. In addition to its staggering death toll (WHO, 2022), COVID-19 has had a significant negative impact on mental health (e.g. Xie et al., 2022) and on suicidal thoughts and behaviors (e.g. Stewart et al., 2021; Schluter et al., 2022). For many people, the pandemic increased suicide risk factors – including anxiety, isolation, financial struggle, and loss – and emergency department visits increased for suspected suicide attempts and ideation (e.g. Holland et al., 2021; Yard et al., 2021).Fortunately, COVID-19 was not associated with increased overall suicide deaths in 2020 in the U.S. (CDC, 2021), though excess suicide deaths in the U.S. have been observed in racial minority populations (Mitchell & Li, 2021; Bray et al., 2021)—as well as in other nations (e.g. Japan: Takana & Okamoto, 2021; 10% rise in India: Menon et al., 2021)—and trends beyond 2020 in the U.S. are currently unknown.
Due to the emergence of new variants and varying governmental responses, there is continued pressing need to understand the impact COVID-19 may be having on mental health and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs). Disproportionate effects on minority or low-income individuals, as well as long-term effects throughout the population, are yet to be understood. Many have suggested that the mental health effects are likely to last longer – and possibly peak later – than the virus itself (Moutier, 2020). Early indications suggest that we need to stay vigilant and continue to build and expand suicide risk assessment and intervention efforts globally.
This symposium will bring together investigators at the forefront of this pursuit focusing on multiple methods of studying the association between the COVID-19 pandemic and STBs. It also aligns with this year’s convention theme – emergency and disaster preparedness and response – by providing key insights from behavioral science into how the onset of this global disaster affected a particularly critical aspect of mental health.
First, Dr. Sherry Stewart will present findings from a meta-analysis of 54 studies testing a link between COVID-19 and suicide – the largest examination of this association to date. Second, Dr. Nicholas Jacobson will share results from an innovative use of state-level Google search data for suicide- and mental-health-related terms during the staggered implementation of stay-at-home orders early in the pandemic. Third, Dr. Rebecca Fortgang will provide findings from an ecological momentary assessment study of STBs showing an increase in suicidal thinking after the onset of the pandemic and highlighting the role of social isolation in this association. Fourth, Dr. Thomas Mitchell will discuss evidence of excess suicide deaths in Connecticut associated with the COVID-19 pandemic specifically among racial minority populations, whereas suicide deaths decreased among white residents. Finally, Dr. Moutier, Chief Medical Officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, will serve as discussant, helping to highlight how implications from the scientific findings presented in this symposium can be integrated into critical priorities for preventing suicide during COVID-19 and future disasters.
Presenter: Sherry H. Stewart, Ph.D. – Dalhousie University
Co-author: Justin Dubé, PhD Candidate – Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University
Co-author: Simon Sherry, PhD – Department of Psychology and Neuroscience; Department of Psychiatry; Dalhousie University
Co-author: Martin Smith, PhD – Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia
Co-author: Paul Hewitt, Ph.D. – University of British Columbia
Presenter: Nicholas C. Jacobson, Ph.D. – Dartmouth College
Co-author: Damien Lekkas, MS – Dartmouth College
Co-author: George Price, BS – Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College
Co-author: Michael Heinz, MD – Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College; Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Co-author: Minkeun Song, BA – Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College
Co-author: A James O’Malley, PhD – Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College; Department of Biomedical Data Science, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College; The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College
Co-author: Paul Barr, PhD, MSc – Center for Technology and Behavioral Health, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College; The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College
Presenter: Rebecca G Fortgang, Ph.D. – Harvard University
Co-author: Shirley B. Wang, M.A. – Harvard University
Co-author: Alexander Millner, Ph.D. – Harvard University
Co-author: Azure Reid-Russell, B.S. – Department of Psychology, Harvard University
Co-author: Anna Beukenhorst, PhD – Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Co-author: Evan M. Kleiman, PhD – Rutgers, The State university of new jersey
Co-author: Kate Bentley, Ph.D. – Massachusetts General Hospital
Co-author: Kelly L. Zuromski, Ph.D. – Harvard University
Co-author: Maha Al-Suwaidi, BS – Department of Psychology, UCLA
Co-author: Suzanne A. Bird, M.D. – Massachusetts General Hospital
Co-author: Ralph Buonopane, Ph.D. – Franciscan Children's
Co-author: Dylan DeMarco, BA – Department of Psychology, Harvard University
Co-author: Adam Haim, PhD – National Institute of Mental Health, NIH
Co-author: Victoria Joyce, PhD – Franciscan Children's
Co-author: Erik Kastman, BS – Department of Psychology, Harvard University
Co-author: Erin Kilbury, MA – Department of Psychology, Harvard University
Co-author: Hye-In Lee, BS – UMass Chan Medical School
Co-author: Patrick Mair, Ph.D. – Harvard University
Co-author: Carol Nash, M.S. – Franciscan Children's
Co-author: Jukka-Pekka Onnela, DSc – Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Co-author: Jordan Smoller, MD, ScD – Massachusetts General Hospital; Harvard Medical School; Harvard School of Public Health
Co-author: Matthew Nock, Ph.D. – Harvard University
Presenter: Thomas Mitchell, B.A., M.D. – Yale University School of Medicine
Co-author: Luming Li, MD – The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD