The McGill Group for Suicide Studies (MGSS) has been conducting extensive work investigating clinical and behavioral factors increasing risk for suicidal behaviors. To do so, it has been primarily using the following methodologies:
Psychological autopsy studies
Psychological autopsy studies are proxy-based interviews that assess clinical, developmental, psychological and social aspects of a third party. These structured interviews are perfectly suited to investigate people who have already passed away, and as such, they have been used in suicide research for many years.
Examples of studies published by our group using this technique are:
- Risk factors for suicide completion in major depression: a case-control study of impulsive and aggressive behaviors in men. Dumais A, Lesage AD, Alda M, Rouleau G, Dumont M, Chawky N, Roy M, Mann JJ, Benkelfat C, Turecki G. Am J Psychiatry. 2005 Nov;162(11):2116-24.
- Current Psychiatric Morbidity, Aggression/Impulsivity, and Personality Dimensions in Child and Adolescent Suicide: A case control study.
Renaud J, Berlim M, Tousignant M, Turecki G. J Aff Disorders, 2008 Jan; 105 (1-3): 221-8.
- Risk factors for suicide completion in borderline personality disorder: a case-control study of cluster B comorbidity and impulsive aggression. McGirr A, Paris J, Lesage A, Renaud J, Turecki G. J Clin Psychiatry. 2007 May;68(5):721-9.
Prospective cohort studies
The MGSS has been conducting a series of studies in epidemiologically representative samples followed up since kindergarten in collaboration with the GRIP. These studies have been aiming to better understand the development of suicidal behavior, as well as its clinical and behavioral correlates.
Examples of these studies include:
- Childhood trajectories of anxiousness and disruptiveness as predictors of suicide attempts. Brezo J, Barker ED, Paris J, Hébert M, Vitaro F, Tremblay RE, Turecki G. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008 Nov;162(11):1015-21.
- Predicting suicide attempts in young adults with histories of childhood abuse. Brezo J, Paris J, Vitaro F, Hébert M, Tremblay RE, Turecki G. Br J Psychiatry. 2008 Aug;193(2):134-9.
- Natural history of suicidal behaviors in a population-based sample of young adults. Brezo J, Paris J, Barker ED, Tremblay R, Vitaro F, Zoccolillo M, Hébert M, Turecki G. Psychol Med. 2007 Nov;37(11):1563-74.
Family studies
Family studies use the family unit to investigate factors cosegregating with suicidal behavior. They can be used to address different questions, such as recurrence rates in relatives, estimates of patterns of transmission, phenotypic characterizations, etc.
Examples of this type of approach are:
- Familial aggregation of suicidal behavior: a family study of male suicide completers from the general population. Kim CD, Seguin M, Therrien N, Riopel G, Chawky N, Lesage AD, Turecki G. Am J Psychiatry. 2005 May;162(5):1017-9.
- Familial aggregation of suicide explained by cluster B traits: a three-group family study of suicide controlling for major depressive disorder.
McGirr A, Alda M, Seguin M, Cabot S, Lesage A, Turecki G. Am J Psychiatry. Oct 2009;166(10):1124-1134.
Clinical population studies
The Depressive Disorders Program is the clinical arm of the MGSS. Through the DDP, we have been conducting a series of studies focusing on clinical populations, particularly on patients with severe major depressive disorder. These studies are broad in scope, having different types of goals and using different methodologies.
Examples of these studies are:
- Family history of suicidal behavior predicts impulsive-aggressive behavior levels in psychiatric outpatients. Diaconu G, Turecki G. J Affect Disord. 2008 May 24.
- Panic disorder and suicidality: is comorbidity with depression the key? Diaconu G, Turecki G. J Affect Disord. 2007 Dec;104(1-3):203-9.
- Current trends in the assessment and somatic treatment of resistant/refractory major depression: an overview. Berlim MT, Fleck MP, Turecki G. Ann Med. 2008;40(2):149-59.
