Network Analysis: A Novel Approach to Understand Suicidal Behavior

Although suicide is a major public health issue worldwide, we understand little of the onset and development of suicidal behavior. Suicidal behavior is argued to be the end result of the complex interaction between psychological, social and biological factors. A new approach called network analysis can help us better understand suicidal behavior as it allows to visualize and quantify complex association between many different symptoms or risk factors. Risk factors for suicidal behaviour such as intensity of suicidal thoughts and impulsivity are thought to cause each other. A network perspective can help us understand how these risk factors interact and how their interaction is related to future suicidal behaviour. A network perspective has been successfully applied to the field of depression and psychosis, but not yet to the field of suicidology. In this theoretical article, I will introduce the concept of network analysis to the field of suicide prevention, and offer directions for future applications and studies.