Rory O’Connor PhD FRSE FAcSS is Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and a Past President of the International Academy of Suicide Research. Rory leads the Suicidal Behaviour Research Lab at Glasgow, one of the leading suicide/self-harm research groups internationally. He has published extensively in the field of suicide and self-harm.  His research has been extensively cited as evidenced by Rory being named in the ISI Highly Cited Researchers list, that ranks researchers in the top 1% for citations in their field. He is the recipient of several awards including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Research Award 2023. He is also co-author/editor of several books, including being author of the award-winning book When It is Darkest. Why People Die by Suicide and What We Can Do To Prevent It.  Rory has also contributed to numerous TV documentaries on suicide and co-hosts the mental health podcast MQ’s Open Mind.

Understanding and Preventing Suicide in a Changing World

In this presentation, I will outline the scale of the challenge of preventing suicide. I will highlight the central role of behavioural science in mapping out the pathways from suicidal thoughts to suicidal acts. In addition, I will describe the growing evidence for psychosocial interventions to reduce suicide risk. In short, I will present an overview of some of our clinical, experimental and intervention studies to illustrate how psychological, physiological and social factors increase suicide risk and what we all can do to tackle suicide. The wider implications for the prevention of suicide will also be discussed.