Exploring the relationship between stress reactivity and electrodermal activity in suicide risk

Supervisors

PhD project summary

The pathways to suicide are complex (O’Connor & Nock, 2014). However, it is generally accepted that suicide is best understood as the end product of the interplay between biological, psychological and social factors. In this PhD we will explore the role of two biological processes, the cortisol stress response and electrodermal activity in the context of established psychological and social factors. This PhD aims to address two overarching research questions: (1) is the dysregulation of the emotion processing system associated with the dysregulation of the cortisol system and established suicide risk correlates in those vulnerable to suicide?; (2) to what extent are negative life events experienced across the lifespan associated with both cortisol dysregulation and electrodermal activity in those vulnerable to suicide? These questions will be addressed across three studies:

Study 1 will be a systematic review of biological factors associated with suicide risk. Study 2 will be an experimental study to which we will recruit three groups of participants with different suicidal histories (control group vs suicide ideation group vs suicide attempt group). We will assess cortisol and electrodermal activity under different conditions and participants will complete a clinical interview/psychosocial measures. Study 3 will be an in-depth interview-based interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study to which we will recruit c10 participants who have attempted suicide.