Literature Review: Review Of Literature On Suicide

Review of Literature: Suicide Suicide is a very real problem in our society today. According to the CDC, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in Americans. (CDC) There is an increasing number of people committing suicide and people attempting suicide each year. Unfortunately, there is a stigma around suicide that makes people afraid to ask for the help that they need. This review of literature discusses suicide by addressing the following questions to three main ideas:

1. What age groups are at risk?

2. What are the risk factors?

3. What can we do to help prevent suicide?

What Age Groups Are at Risk?

According to WHO suicide occurs throughout the lifespan (WHO). Suicide can affect almost anyone at any age. With more than 800,000 individuals estimated to die by suicide globally each year, it is imperative that efforts be made to improve the identification of individuals at elevated risk for suicide (Podlogar). Among those ages 15-19 years, suicide is the third leading cause

According to WHO, the strongest risk factor for suicide is a previous suicide attempt (WHO). Up to 42% of adolescents who attempt suicide go on to make another attempt with in 2 years of the original attempt. (Miranda) People who reside in long-term care communities are at risk as well. Between 5%-33% of long term care residents reported suicidal ideation (Muzek). As mentioned by Kurt, alcohol abuse and drug abuse are also linked to suicide attempts and suicide ideation (Kurt) Research has shown that people with psychiatric disorders are usually at much greater risk of suicide than the general public, and people diagnosed with severe mental illness are at the highest risk for suicide among people with any mental illness (O’Hare). According to the CDC, some of the most common risk factors are family history of suicide, stress life event or loss, easy access to lethal methods, history of mental illness or