Child and Adolescent Suicide: Facts, Assessment and Preventive Strategies

Abstract

Suicide, act of killing oneself or self murder, is the 10th leading cause of death worldwide. It resulted in 828,000 global deaths in the year 2015 with an increase from 712,000 deaths in 1990. Important factors, affecting suicide, include psychiatric disorders, drug use, cultural, family and social situations, psychological states, and genetics. Half of all adult suicide was found to have diagnosable major psychiatric disorder. Major depressive disorder, bipolar mood disorder increase the risk of suicide by 20-fold. Other disorders include schizophrenia (14%), personality disorders (8%), obsessive compulsive disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder.