Abstracto

Mental Health 2019: PLASN: Predictive Linguistics Applied to Suicide Notes posted online by suicide attempters and suicide completers

Mathieu Guidere

The suicide note (or letter) is a written message left by a person who committed suicide or attempted suicide. In France, the percentage of left letters is estimated 25%-30% of the total number of suicides. These letters contain information relevant both to the study of pathologies associated with suicidality and to the prevention of suicide and recidivism. The predictability of the suicidal act is very variable and there is no consensus regarding the psychological portrait of suicidal subjects. However, different profiles and risk factors have been identified by medical research, notably through “predictive linguistic autopsy”. This method is based on the collection and analysis of writings (suicide notes and messages) in order to better understand the motivations and circumstances surrounding his or her suicidal attempt or death. At present, suicide notes and messages are used primarily for legal purposes but little or no study is done to investigate the ??? autopsy of life ???.