Network analysis for motives in suicide cases: a cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Public Health
• Network Science

Background:

• Suicide is a complex issue with diverse underlying distresses and motives.
• Limited research exists on the interrelationships between various suicide motives.
• Understanding motive structures is crucial for effective suicide prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlational structures among different motives for suicide using network analysis.
• To identify key motives and their relationships in suicide victims.
• To explore the structural organization of suicide motivations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized network analysis, including degree and betweenness centrality measures.
• Employed structural analysis via block modeling on a dataset of Japanese suicide victims (2007-2009).
• Data sourced in cooperation with Ibaraki Prefectural Police Headquarters.

Main Results:

• Depression and physical illness demonstrated high degree centrality, indicating frequent co-occurrence with other motives.
• Depression and unemployment exhibited high betweenness centrality, suggesting they bridge different motive clusters.
• Block modeling identified eight distinct structural blocks, with one significant block encompassing familial (parent-child, marital conflict) and financial (economic hardship, debt) motives.

Conclusions:

• Depression and physical illness are critical, high-priority motives in completed suicides, influencing behavior differently.
• A significant cluster of familial and financial motives plays a crucial role, often inducing hopelessness.
• A social model perspective, considering the interconnectedness of suicide motivations, is recommended for intervention development.