Volunteer to Participate in Research

One way you can contribute to reducing suicide is by participating as a volunteer in a suicide research study. Scientists use these studies to learn more about suicide, and eventually to improve the ways that professionals and the public work to prevent it.

We post promising research projects that are looking for volunteers on this page.

If you are a researcher interested in submitting your study for inclusion here, please send an email to research@afsp.org. 

Please Assist Me in Identifying the Needs of Those who Have Lost Someone to Suicide.

If you currently self-identify as having known someone who died by suicide (suicide must have occurred more than 6 months ago), and are between 18 years and 80 years of age, you are invited to participate in a study exploring the influence of emotional closeness with the deceased on suicide survivors’ grief reactions. This research project is being completed by Nicole Carden, M.S., M.Ed, as part of her doctorate dissertation at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM).

By clicking the link below, you voluntarily agree to participate, and will be directed to an online survey. The survey should take between 15-25 minutes to complete. You may withdraw from participation at any time, and all participant information will be kept entirelyanonymous(the survey does not request personally identifying information such as your name, address, date of birth, etc., and your responses cannot be linked back to capture your IP address and/or email address) .

If you are interested in participating, please click the link below. You may need to copy and paste the link into your browser:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/survivors_reactions

This study has been approved by the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Institutional Review Board (Ref. #H14-044X). If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me via e-mail at nicoleca@pcom.edu or by phone at (610) 986-3830. You can also reach my dissertation chair (Dr. Petra Kottsieper) at petrako@pcom.edu.

Thank you,

Nicole Carden, M.S., M.Ed.

Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine

Do You Have a Close Family Member Who Has Attempted Suicide?

We are trying to understand the biological causes of suicidal behavior. If you have a family member who attempted suicide and you are between the ages of 18 and 29, you may be eligible to participate in a research study at the New York State Psychiatric Institute/Columbia University. Study participation includes brain imaging scans and several clinical assessments. Eligible individuals will be paid up to $475. With our findings, we hope to develop a better understanding of why people attempt suicide in order to improve prevention. All collected information will remain confidential. If you are interested in learning more about this study, please contact our Research Coordinator at 646-774-7561.

Are you a survivor of suicide loss?

The loss of a loved one to suicide is an unimaginably difficult experience that everyone copes with in a unique way. These different coping styles are likely related to the structure and function of each person’s brain. In this study we are seeking to understand how the makeup of your brain contributes to your specific experience of suicide grief. By participating, you can help further our understanding of how the brain copes with loss.

• We are seeking individuals who have lost a parent, sibling, child, spouse or life-partner due to a suicide or non-suicide related death, within the past 6 months.
• Participants must be between the ages of 18-65. 
• This study involves MRI scans and no radiation exposure.

This study is being conducted at Columbia University Medical Center/New York State Psychiatric Institute. Eligible participants will be compensated with $300 for their time. If you are interested, please contact us at (646)774-7538 or cam2325@columbia.edu.

Complicated Grief Study Seeks Participants in Boston, New York City, Pittsburgh, San Diego

AFSP is proud to announce a groundbreaking Survivor Research Initiative to study bereavement after suicide. The goal is to proactively identify key areas in need of research focus, and to fund specially-commissioned research projects in those areas. To that end, AFSP convened a select group of researchers to help identify strategic survivor research priorities. Read about the workshop.

The first project to be funded by the AFSP Survivor Research Initiative seeks to better understand Complicated Grief among survivors of suicide loss and how it can be effectively resolved, complementing a major treatment study currently being funded by the National Institutes of Health. This multi-site research project is now underway and seeks participants.

Survivors who live in the four participating cities and are interested in taking part in the study should contact the individuals listed below:

The following was provided by the researchers in New York and describes the study and the criteria for participation more fully:

Grieving the death of a loved one is undoubtedly one of the hardest things we may ever do as humans. Strong feelings of sadness and lonelinesscommonly occur following the death of a loved one. Other painful feelings, like fear, anxiety, guilt, resentment, anger, and shame are also common. Experiencing any or all of these emotions during acute grief can be very normal.

However, some people find that their grief does not change with time. These people are bothered by something that happened around the death orabout how things have been after the death. These people are “stuck” in the grieving process and suffering from the condition called ComplicatedGrief (CG). No matter how long it has been, they still feel that all they want is to be with their loved one again. They might try to do things to feel closer tothe person who died like spend a lot of time looking at pictures or visiting the grave again and again; sometimes, they get so emotional when they arereminded of the person who died that they want to avoid these reminders. People with CG often feel that life is empty and meaningless or that joy is nolonger possible for them. They might frequently feel angry or bitter about what happened or feel confused about what to do with their life. They feeldistant from family and friends, who seem like they don’t understand and are disappointed in their inability to adjust to the loss.

Individuals interested in getting help may be eligible to participate in a treatment study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Participants will beseen in a clinic at Columbia University Medical Center. The study is for adults over the age of 18 and includes medication and talk therapy treatments.Study participation takes about a year, including 4 months of treatment visits and approximately 7 monthly telephone follow-up calls. There is also afollow-up visit 6 months after completing treatment. There is no cost for either treatment, and all information related to the study will be kept strictlyconfidential.

If you have been bereaved for 6 months or more, you may be eligible to participate.