The Sylvia Plath effect is the phenomenon that poets are more susceptible to mental illness than other creative writers. The term was coined in 2001 by psychologist James C. Kaufman, and implications and possibilities for future research are discussed. The effect is named after author Sylvia Plath, who died by suicide at the age of 30. Building on the more general research that, from early adolescence through adulthood, women are twice as likely as men to experience depression, Kaufman's work f…