Gvion Y, Levi-Belz Y, Hadlaczky G, Apter A. On the role of impulsivity and decision-making in suicidal behavior. World J Psychiatr 2015; 5(3): 255-259 [PMID: 26425440 DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v5.i3.255]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yari Gvion, PhD, Department of Clinical Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel. yari@kadi.co.il
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Psychiatr. Sep 22, 2015; 5(3): 255-259 Published online Sep 22, 2015. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v5.i3.255
On the role of impulsivity and decision-making in suicidal behavior
Yari Gvion, Yossi Levi-Belz, Gergö Hadlaczky, Alan Apter
Yari Gvion, Department of Clinical Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel
Yari Gvion, Department of Clinical Psychology, Tel-Aviv Jaffa Academic Center, Tel Aviv 6199903, Israel
Yari Gvion, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya 46000, Israel
Yossi Levi-Belz, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 40250, Israel
Gergö Hadlaczky, National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health (NASP), Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
Alan Apter, Feinberg Child Study Center, Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva 49202, Israel
Author contributions: All the authors equally contributed to this work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Yari Gvion, PhD, Department of Clinical Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel. yari@kadi.co.il
Telephone: +972-52-2340520
Received: March 10, 2015 Peer-review started: March 12, 2015 First decision: May 13, 2015 Revised: June 30, 2015 Accepted: September 1, 2015 Article in press: September 2, 2015 Published online: September 22, 2015
Abstract
Suicide risk constitutes a complex set of interacting demographic, clinical, psychobiological and environmental variables. Impulsivity is a long-known risk factor for suicide attempts. However, research based on clearer conceptual refinement in this area is imperative. One emerging field of study is that of decision-making. Impulsivity involves a failure of higher-order control, including decision-making. Using standardized operational definitions that take into consideration relevant aspects of impulsivity, including state- and trait-components and a deeper understanding of the process of decision-making in the suicidal mind, we may come a step closer to understanding suicidality and winning the fight in this scourge of human suffering.
Core tip: Impulsivity is a long-known risk factor for suicide attempts. Impulsivity involves a failure of higher-order control, including decision-making. Thus, decision-making may be particularly pertinent to suicidal behavior. Deficits in decision-making may impair people’s ability to resolve problems and dilemmas and thus create an accumulation of stressors leading to further pain. These may give rise to risky choices such as self- harm or suicide behaviors.
