Suicidal behavior from a complex system perspective: Individual, dynamical, and contextual

Abstract

Suicidal behavior is the result of the complex interaction between many different components that interact over time. Still, traditional study designs operationalize suicidal behavior as static behavior, without any room for individual differences. But it seems times are changing. Novel technology such as data collection via apps and the collaboration with other disciplines such as ecology have resulted in an exciting new line of research within the field of psychopathology. These developments can also have an impact on how we think about, treat, and study suicidal behavior. By introducing complex system science within the field of suicide prevention, we hope to open up a whole range of novel concepts and testable hypotheses that can help us study suicidal behavior from a different perspective: individual, dynamic(al), and contextual.