Advancements in the Understanding of PTSD and Suicide Risk: Introduction to a Special Section INTRODUCTION

Nearly 1 million people worldwide die by suicide annually (Naghavi, 2019), and an even greater proportion of the global population experiences suicidal ideation and engages in suicidal behavior (World Health Organization, 2014). Although myriad factors contribute to the development and maintenance of suicidal thoughts and behaviors (Klonsky et al., 2016), research has repeatedly shown that individuals with elevated symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or a PTSD diagnosis are at increased risk for suicide (for reviews, see Holliday et al., 2020; Panagioti et al., 2009, 2012). More specifically, PTSD has been shown to predict suicidal ideation (Panagioti et al., 2017), suicide attempts (Stanley et al., 2019), and suicide mortality (Cooper et al., 2020). In fact, large-scale epidemiological investigations have demonstrated that PTSD is one of the few psychiatric disorders that predicts the transition from thinking about suicide to making a suicide attempt (Nock et al., 2009). Suicidal thoughts and behaviors, therefore, are among the most concerning and potentially debilitating consequences of PTSD, and efforts to understand the interplay between PTSD and suicidality are crucial for suicide prevention efforts. © 2021 American Psychological Association