Psychosocial risk factors for suicidality in children and adolescents

Abstract

Suicidality in childhood and adolescence is of increasing concern. The aim of this paper was to review the published literature identifying key psychosocial risk factors for suicidality in the paediatric population. A systematic two-step search was carried out following the PRISMA statement guidelines, using the terms 'suicidality, suicide, and self-harm' combined with terms 'infant, child, adolescent' according to the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health classification of ages. Forty-four studies were included in the qualitative synthesis. The review identified three main factors that appear to increase the risk of suicidality: psychological factors (depression, anxiety, previous suicide attempt, drug and alcohol use, and other comorbid psychiatric disorders); stressful life events (family problems and peer conflicts); and personality traits (such as neuroticism and impulsivity). The evidence highlights the complexity of suicidality and points towards an interaction of factors contributing to suicidal behaviour. More information is needed to understand the complex relationship between risk factors for suicidality. Prospective studies with adequate sample sizes are needed to investigate these multiple variables of risk concurrently and over time.

Single and multiple suicide attempts: Prevalence and correlates in school-going adolescents in Liberia in 2017

“…In agreement with previous investigations [8,10,20,25], the ndings of this research show an association between current tobacco use, drug use, parental tobacco use and fast food intake with single and/or multiple suicide attempts. Several mechanisms have been proposed [10] for the link between fast food consumption and suicide attempt, for example, "fast food consumption may increase risk for suicide attempts by increasing vulnerability to traumatic stress via alterations in brain structure and function, with stress being a well-known predictor of suicide attempts in adolescents."…”

“…Only among girls, this study found an association between social-environmental factors (parental tobacco use and parents never/rarely check home work) and multiple suicide attempts, which concurs with some previous research [20,25]. In agreement with former research [15][16][17], this study showed a strong association between multiple adverse experiences and single and multiple suicide attempts, and appeared to be stronger in multiple suicide attempts.…”

The Effects of Risk Behaviors and Orthorexic Behavior on Glycemic Control in Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes

“…A similar study from Asia in 2015 found the rate of smoking and alcohol consumption to be 22.3% and 27.9% ( 4 ), which were 32.3% and 18.7% in Turkey, respectively ( 5 ). The rate of suicide attempts was higher in adolescents than in other age groups ( 6 ). The higher rates may be due to psychological problems in adolescents such as anxiety and depression, stressful life (problems with peers or family, chronic illness, etc.)…”

Ergenlerde İnti̇har Davranişi İle Anneye Bağlanma Özelli̇kleri̇ Arasindaki̇ İli̇şki̇

“…Risk faktörlerinin bilinmesi, intihar girişimi olmadan öncesinde ve tekrarlayan intihar girişimlerinin önlenebilmesinde gerekli koruyucu önlemlerin alınması ve müdahale programlarının geliştirilmesi açısından çok önemlidir. Ergenlik döneminde intihar davranışı için risk faktörlerini araştıran çalışmalarda, başta major depresyon olmak üzere psikiyatrik hastalık varlığı, önceki intihar girişimi, sosyal yetersizlik, stresli yaşam olayları (aile çatışması, akademik stresör, travma, zorbalığa maruz kalma gibi), nörotisisizm ve dürtüsellik gibi mizaç özellikleri risk faktörleri olarak bildirilmiştir (3,4). İntihar davranışını artıran risk faktörlerinden biri de bağlanma sorunlarıdır.…”