Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jan;48(1):4-14.
doi: 10.1007/s11414-020-09714-4.

Impact of Mental Health Treatment on Suicide Attempts

Chandler McClellan  1 , Mir M Ali  2 , Ryan Mutter  3
Affiliations

Impact of Mental Health Treatment on Suicide Attempts

Chandler McClellan et al. J Behav Health Serv Res. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of mental health treatment on suicide attempts. While prior work demonstrates the effectiveness of mental health treatment at reducing suicide risk, few studies examine nationally representative populations or use broad measures of access to mental health services. A methodological problem can arise in studies of mental health treatment and suicidal behavior because a suicide attempt can result in the use of more mental health services. Using nationally representative survey data combined with national estimates of provider availability, this paper employs a methodological correction to address that potential problem of reverse causation. This paper uses measures of the density of health care providers in an area as statistical instruments for use of mental health treatment in an analysis of the impact of mental health treatment on suicide attempts. This study finds that mental health treatment significantly reduces suicide attempts.

Keywords: Access to care; Mental health treatment; Suicide.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Heron M. Deaths: Leading Causes for 2015. National Vital Statistics Reports. 2017;66(5):2-76.
    1. Case A, Deaton A. Rising morbidity and mortality in midlife among white non-Hispanic Americans in the 21st century. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2015;112(49):15078-15083. - DOI
    1. Curtin SC, Warner M, Hedegaard H. Increase in suicide in the United States, 1999-2014. NCHS Data Brief 241. Published April 2016.
    1. Shepard DS, Gurewich D, Lwin AK, et al. Suicide and Suicidal Attempts in the United States: Costs and Policy Implications. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. 2016;46(3):352-362. - DOI
    1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Leading Change 2.0: Advancing the Behavioral Health of the Nation 2015-2018. HHS Publication No. (PEP) 14-LEADCHANGE2. Published 2014.

LinkOut - more resources