A Systematic Review on Suicide and Youth: Biological, Psychological, Social and Environmental Risk Factors

Abstract

Introduction: Suicide affects the lives of many individuals all over the world and is a severe public health concern. Among all the ages, youth suicide is one of the severe topics to be concerned about due to the years of their life lost. As a result, we require a thorough understanding of the risk factors contributing to young suicide cases. This systematic review uses thematic analysis to identify common themes and topics in recent literature on suicide and youth: biological, psychological, social, and environmental risk factors. Objective: This study aims to identify and distill the common themes in recent literature on suicide and youth. Methods: Literature was sourced from four databases and edited down based on abstract and content analysis. Findings: 71 articles were chosen and were reviewed to identify the main topics of discussion. Conclusion: Each factor brought different intentions on how they can contribute the youth to committing suicide or having suicide ideation. We also included evidence of the prevalence of the risk factors for youth suicides. Some suicide prevention has been included at the end of the article. Recommendation: These results serve as a source of reference for future research.