Mindsets of suicide trajectories: An Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count analysis of suicide hotline conversations.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to explore the psychological characteristics of the individuals with various suicide risks using computerized text analysis, in the hopes of a better understanding of suicide trajectories.

Methods: 627 first-time callers' records were randomly selected from Taiwan An-Shin Hotline database between 2013 and 2018. The voice records were evaluated by two psychologists to determine the levels of suicide risk (156 with uncertainty of risk, 177 with low suicidal ideation, 157 with high suicidal ideation, and 137 with suicide preparation/attempt) and transcribed into text. The Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count 2015 (LIWC2015) program combined with Chinese dictionary were then used to calculate the frequency of word categories.

Results: Exploratory factor analysis identified four mindsets of language characteristics, named "opposition and questioning", "active engagement", "negative rumination", and "focus on death". Psychological descriptions of the mindsets were also obtained through correlation analysis with the LIWC2015 categories and indicators. The four mindsets effectively distinguished the callers with different levels of suicide risk.

Conclusion: The psychological characteristics of people with various suicide risks can be described and differentiated via the closed-word categories and composite indicators. These results provide useful information for practitioners and researchers.