台大心理系

Suicide is a tragic loss to individuals, family and friends, and the society as a whole and a global and national health priority. Approximately 800,000 people die by suicide a year globally. There were a total of 3864 suicides in Taiwan in 2019. The etiology of suicide is complex, and its prevention would involve interventions at multiple levels. This talk will be based on a lifecourse and systematic perspective into suicidal behavior, incorporating distant and proximal risk factors for suicide across various stages from precipitating factors to the occurrence of thoughts, attempts, and deaths by suicide. Informed by such a framework, we have conducted research into spatial and temporal variations in suicide rates, individual-level risk factors of suicide, and the effectiveness of prevention strategies, using a variety of study designs and methodologies such as advanced spatial analysis, time trend analysis, cohort study, and evaluation research. Research findings will be presented and their implications for suicide prevention discussed in this talk.