Suicide Risk Factors in Adolescents Worldwide: A Narrative Review

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people in 15-29 years of age and has always been one of the major public health concerns. Suicide prevention is an integral part of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020, whereby the global target was reducing the rate of suicide in the countries by 10% by 2020. The aim of this narrative review study was to identify the risk factors for adolescents suicide worldwide.
In this study, factors associated with adolescent suicide were classified in three categories: demographic factors such as: age, gender, sexuality, race, and ethnicity; environmental factors including: lack of social and familial support, imprisonment, poor life skills, family history, the Internet, and mass media; and psychological factors including: diagnosed mental disorders, adverse life events and abuse in childhood, academic stress, use of drugs and alcohol, and cyberbullying. It seems that by knowing suicide risk factors in adolescent, appropriate preventive measures can be carried out.