The Effect of Participating in Suicide Research: Does Participating in a Research Protocol on Suicide and Psychiatric Symptoms Increase Suicide Ideation and Attempts?

The effect of engaging in an intensive research protocol that inquired extensively about psychiatric & suicide symptoms & explosed participants to a number of images, including suicide-related content, was explored. Individuals experiencing a major depressive episode were called at 1- & 3-months after the initial protocol. Partipants reported experiencing reductions in suicide ideation at the first follow-up & no changes at the second follow-up. No participant reported having engaged in self-harm or having attempted suicide at either follow-up. Results suggest that basic science/nontreatment research can be conducted safely with suicidal participants in a manner that does not increase suicide symptoms or suicide risk. (26 refs.) JA