Naturally occurring language as a source of evidence in suicide prevention

Philip Resnik; April Foreman; Michelle Kuchuk; Katherine Musacchio Schafer; Beau Pinkham

doi:10.1111/sltb.12674

Naturally occurring language as a source of evidence in suicide prevention

Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2021 Feb;51(1):88-96. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12674. Epub 2020 Sep 10.

Authors

Philip Resnik¹, April Foreman², Michelle Kuchuk^{3

4}, Katherine Musacchio Schafer⁵, Beau Pinkham^{2

4

6}

Affiliations

¹ University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA.
² American Association of Suicidology, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
³ Vibrant Emotional Health, New York, New York, USA.
⁴ National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, New York, New York, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.
⁶ International Council for Helplines, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

PMID: 32914479
DOI: 10.1111/sltb.12674

Abstract

We discuss computational language analysis as it pertains to suicide prevention research, with an emphasis on providing non-technologists with an understanding of key issues and, equally important, considering its relation to the broader enterprise of suicide prevention. Our emphasis here is on naturally occurring language in social media, motivated by its non-intrusive ability to yield high-value information that in the past has been largely unavailable to clinicians.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Humans
Language
Social Media*
Suicide Prevention*