Understanding One’s Own and Others’ Minds: A Key Piece in the Risk of Suicide Reattempt

A longitudinal study involving more than 1,300 patients examines the role of social cognition during the year following a suicide attempt

Suicide remains a major public health concern, particularly in the period following a previous suicide attempt, which is considered a high-risk stage. In this context, a recent study published in BMC Psychiatry explored the role of social cognition—specifically, difficulties in interpreting one’s own mental states and those of others (hypomentalizing)—in the risk of suicide reattempt during the 12 months following an attempt.

The study, conducted with a cohort of 1,373 individuals who had survived a suicide attempt, found that approximately 22.5% made another attempt during the one-year follow-up period. The findings showed that higher levels of hypomentalizing were associated with an increased likelihood of suicide reattempt, as well as with a more severe suicidal profile, including greater suicidal ideation and planning.

However, when other clinically relevant factors were considered—such as suicidal ideation during follow-up, suicide planning, or the number of previous attempts—hypomentalizing no longer remained an independent predictor. This suggests that its role may be better understood as a vulnerability factor that interacts with other, more proximal indicators of suicide risk, rather than acting in isolation.

These findings highlight the importance of considering social cognition in clinical suicide risk assessment. Because mentalizing abilities can be modified through psychological intervention, future research may explore their potential as a therapeutic target to reduce the recurrence of suicidal behavior.

Original study:

Andreo-Jover, J., Fernández-Jiménez, E., Ayad-Ahmed, W., Bobes-Bascarán, M. T., Botí, M. Á., Bravo-Ortiz, M. F., Crespo-Facorro, B., Cebria Meca, A. I., De la Torre-Luque, A., Díaz-Marsa, M., Elices, M., García-Ramos, A., González-Pinto, A., Gosling, M. C., Grande, I., Jiménez-Treviño, L., Palao-Tarrero, A., Palao Vidal, D. J., Roberto, N., Ruiz-Veguilla, M., … Pérez-Sola, V. (2026). Association between hypomentalizing and suicide reattempt: a 12-month follow-up study. BMC Psychiatry, 26(1), 280. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-026-07990-6