Factors related to suicide among students: a narrative review of psychological literature

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an educational overview of suicidal behavior and the factors related to suicidality among students between the ages of 18 and 30 years. Design/methodology/approach The literature related to suicide among students were identified through various electronic database searches. The databases searched included: PsycINFO, PubMed, MEDLINE, ERIC/ProQuest, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar and PMC using the following search terms and their derivatives: suicide/self-harm, suicide risk and students, mental health issues and suicide, substance use and suicide, childhood adversities and suicide, recent life stressors, help-seeking attitude and elevated suicidal risk, help-seeking behavior and suicide and subjective factors and suicide. Findings Suicide is an important public health problem. Several factors influence suicide (including suicidal ideation and taking life or dying by suicide) such as genetics, family functions, socioeconomic status, personality and psychiatric comorbidity. The main themes that were investigated included: mental health issues, childhood adversity and recent life stressors, barriers toward seeking professional help and subjective factors (psychache risk of suicidal behavior, impulsivity, aggression). Originality/value This review focuses on several modifiable psychological factors that have been shown to contribute toward suicidal ideation in youth, especially among university students.