Unveiling adolescent suicidality: Holistic analysis of protective and risk factors using multiple machine learning algorithms

Adolescent suicide attempts are on the rise, presenting a significant public health concern. Recent research aimed at improving risk assessment for adolescent suicide attempts has turned to machine learning. But no studies to date have examined the performance of stacked ensemble algorithms, which are more suitable for low-prevalence conditions. The existing machine learning-based research also […]

Social-ecological perspective on the suicidal behaviour factors of early adolescents in China: A network analysis

Background In early adolescence, youth are highly prone to suicidal behaviours. Identifying modifiable risk factors during this critical phase is a priority to inform effective suicide prevention strategies. Aims To explore the risk and protective factors of suicidal behaviours (ie, suicidal ideation, plans and attempts) in early adolescence in China using a social-ecological perspective. Methods […]

Nonsuicidal self-injury as a time-invariant predictor of adolescent suicide ideation and attempts in a diverse community sample

Objective: Longitudinal data on adolescent self-injury are rare. Little is known regarding the associations between various forms of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors over time, particularly within community samples that are most relevant for prevention efforts. This study examined nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) as a time-invariant, prospective predictor of adolescent suicide ideation, threats or gestures, and attempts […]

Suicidality among sexual minority and transgender adolescents: A nationally representative population-based study of youth in Canada

Background: Very little research has described risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt among transgender youth using high-quality, nationally representative data. We aimed to assess risk of suicidality among transgender and sexual minority adolescents in Canada. Methods: We analyzed a subsample of adolescents aged 15–17 years from the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth, a […]

Spatial, geographic, and demographic factors associated with adolescent and youth suicide: A systematic review study

Background: Suicide is a public health issue and a main cause of mortality among adolescents and the youth worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Objectives: The present research is a systematic review aiming to investigate the spatial, geographical, and demographic factors related to suicide among adolescents and the youth. Methods: In this systematic review, two researchers examined PsycINFO, Web […]

Young people’s pathways to a specialist suicide prevention service and the influence of caregiver prior suicidality and mental health treatment

Aim Timely help-seeking and pathways to care (PtC) have been linked to positive outcomes in suicidal adolescents. While the importance of formal contacts is recognized, caregivers also play a significant role in these pathways. Caregiver’s familiarity with mental health issues may influence an adolescent’s PtC. This study explores the relationship between a caregiver’s prior suicidality […]

Protective factors for suicidal ideation: A prospective study from adolescence to adulthood

Adolescent suicidality is associated with negative outcomes in adulthood. Suicide prevention has traditionally focused on identifying risk factors, yet suicide rates have remained stable. With suicidality often going undetected—especially suicidal ideation, further knowledge about protective factors is needed. The main objective of this study was to investigate potential protective factors for suicidal ideation from adolescence […]

The role of “envisioning the future” in the development of resilience among at-risk youth

The objective was to explore the process by which adolescents develop resilience and change their risk behaviors despite multiple stressors in their environment. The design was exploratory using grounded theory to understand the process from the teens’ perspectives. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 32 individuals-28 adolescents (age range 16-21 years) and 4 adults (age range […]

Risk and protective factors in adolescent suicidal behaviour: A network analysis

Given that death by suicide continues to rank among the top three causes of death during adolescence, new psychological models may contribute critical insight towards understanding the complex interactions between risk and protective factors in suicidal behaviour. The main objective of this study was to analyse the psychological network structure of suicidal behaviour and putative […]

Global trends in youth suicide from 1990 to 2020: An analysis of data from the WHO mortality database

Background Suicide is a serious but preventable public health concern at the global level, showing relevant geographical differences. This study aims to monitor global temporal and geographical patterns in suicide mortality in pre-adolescents, adolescents, and young adults (i.e., aged 10–24 years), from 1990 to 2020 or the most recent available year. Methods Using the World […]

What distinguishes adolescents with suicidal thoughts from those who have attempted suicide? A population-based birth cohort study

Background Only one-third of young people who experience suicidal ideation attempt suicide. It is important to identify factors which differentiate those who attempt suicide from those who experience suicidal ideation but do not act on these thoughts. Methods Participants were 4,772 members of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a UK population-based […]

Stressful life events in different social contexts are associated with self-injury from early adolescence to early adulthood

Self-injury often arises as a maladaptive coping strategy used to alleviate distress. Past research has typically examined how chronic stressors in a specific context are associated with self-injury. Little is known about the unique and cumulative associations between acute stressful life events that occur in different social contexts and self-injury among adolescents. This is especially […]

Social contagion, violence, and suicide among adolescents

Social Contagion is defined as the spread of behaviors, attitudes, and affect through crowds and other types of social aggregates from one member to another. Adolescents are prone to social contagion because they may be especially susceptible to peer influence and social media. In this article, we provide a brief review of the most recent […]

Risk of suicidal behaviors and antidepressant exposure among children and adolescents: A meta-analysis of observational studies

Objectives: Although several studies have reviewed the suicidal risk of antidepressants, the conclusions remain inconsistent. We, therefore, performed a meta-analysis of observational studies to address the association between exposure to antidepressants, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and the risk of suicide and suicide attempt in children and adolescents. Methods: MEDLINE and Embase were searched from January […]

Epidemiology of youth suicide and suicidal behavior

Purpose of Review Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people in the U.S. and represents a significant public health problem worldwide. This review focuses on recent developments in our understanding of the epidemiology and risk factors for adolescent suicide and suicidal behavior. Recent Findings The suicide rate among children and adolescents […]

Emotional dysregulation in adolescents: Implications for the development of severe psychiatric

Well-tuned emotional regulation is fundamental for human life and psychological well-being. Negative physiological emotions are counterbalanced by positive ones, and this equilibrium is the mainstay of human physiological affective states. However, this mechanism may sometimes become dysfunctional when negative emotions are not correctly counterbalanced, causing maladaptive behaviors, especially during adolescence. A very interesting review by […]

Psychobiological risk factors for suicidal thoughts and behaviors in adolescence: A consideration of the role of puberty

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents. While clinicians and researchers have begun to recognize the importance of considering multidimensional factors in understanding risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) during this developmental period, the role of puberty has been largely ignored. In this review, we contend that the hormonal events that […]

Depression predicts emotion acceptance beliefs in early adolescence: A longitudinal investigation

Objectives Adolescence is a time period which confers significant risk for the development of psychopathology. There is increasing consensus within the literature that beliefs about one’s emotional experience are important and may present a unique risk factor during this time period. However, to date, there has been no longitudinal examination of the relationship between depression […]

Close friendship strength and broader peer group desirability as differential predictors of adult mental health

Middle adolescents’ close friendship strength and the degree to which their broader peer group expressed a preference to affiliate with them were examined as predictors of relative change in depressive symptoms, self-worth, and social anxiety symptoms from ages 15 to 25 using multimethod, longitudinal data from 169 adolescents. Close friendship strength in midadolescence predicted relative […]

Self-harm and suicide death in the three years following hospitalization for intentional self-harm in adolescents and young adults: A nationwide study

Self-harm is frequent in youths. This study aimed to assess the risk of self-harm and mortality over a three-year period following self-harm hospitalization. Data were extracted from national databases in France. All patients aged 12 to 24 years and hospitalized for self-harm in 2013-2014 were included and compared to age- and sex-matched individuals with no […]

Risk and protective factors for self-harm in adolescents and young adults: An umbrella review of systematic reviews

We conducted an umbrella review to synthesise the evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses that examined the risk and protective factors for self-harm in young people. We searched six different databases and used the AMSTAR-2 checklist for quality assessment. The importance of each risk and protective factor was determined based on (1) the number of times it […]

Suicide prevention in childhood and adolescence: a narrative review of current knowledge on risk and protective factors and effectiveness of interventions

Introduction Suicide is a global mental health problem for people of all ages. While rates of suicide in children and adolescents are reported as lower than those in older populations worldwide, they represent the third leading cause of death in 15–19-year-olds. The rates are higher among boys than girls worldwide, though the death rates for […]

Global lifetime and 12-month prevalence of suicidal behavior, deliberate self-harm and non-suicidal self-injury in children and adolescents between 1989 and 2018: A meta-analysis

Objective: This meta-analysis aimed to estimate the global lifetime and 12-month prevalence of suicidal behavior, deliberate self-harm and non-suicidal self-injury in children and adolescents. Methods: A systematic search for relevant articles published between 1989 to 2018 was performed in multiple electronic databases. The aggregate 12-month and lifetime prevalence of suicidal behavior, deliberate self-harm, and non-suicidal […]