Rates and Reasons for Concealing Suicidal Ideation From Clinicians: A Cross-National Examination.
Journal
Suicide & life-threatening behavior
Journal Volume
55
Journal Issue
4
Start Page
e70039
ISSN
1943-278X
Date Issued
2025-08
Author(s)
Peterkin, Devon
Rogers, Megan L
Lawrence, Olivia C
Richards, Jenelle
Zheng, Sifan
Astudillo-García, Claudia I
Levy, Yael Apter
Barzilay, Shira
Blum, Yarden
Chistopolskaya, Ksenia
Çinka, Elif
Dudeck, Manuela
Husain, M Ishrat
Jiménez, Alberto
Yilmaz, Fatma Kantas
Kuśmirek, Oskar
Lee, Ming-Been
Menon, Vikas
Peper-Nascimento, Jefté
Sadovnichaya, Veronika
Streb, Judith
Valvassori, Samira S
You, Sungeun
Galynker, Igor
Abstract
Introduction: Nondisclosure of suicidal ideation (SI) presents a challenge to assessing suicide risk, as assessments often rely on self-reported SI. Cross-national comparisons of rates of, and reasons for, SI nondisclosure remain understudied. The present study examined whether rates of SI nondisclosure from clinicians differed, and if there were differences in rates of reasons for SI nondisclosure, across 12 countries. Method: A subset of adult participants (n = 6770) who reported a lifetime history of SI from 12 countries responded to the question: “Have you ever denied or concealed thinking about suicide from a doctor or clinician?” Those who selected “Yes” provided reason(s) for SI nondisclosure. Responses were coded according to inductively and deductively derived reasons for SI nondisclosure. Results: Rates of nondisclosure among participants who reported lifetime SI ranged from 7.2% (Taiwan) to 48.2% (United States). Among those participants, rates of reasons for SI nondisclosure ranged from 2.0% (participant was unsure/did not know why they concealed SI) to 35.6% (negative internal experiences). Conclusions: Findings provide insight into the frequency of and reasons for SI nondisclosure from clinicians at a country-specific level. Results could serve as a rationale for clinicians to incorporate indirect suicide risk factors into risk assessments.
Subjects
concealment
cross‐national
nondisclosure
suicidal ideation
suicide
Type
journal article