Annual Research Review

A meta‐analytic review of worldwide suicide rates in adolescents

Bibliographic Data

ID23359334
AuthorsCatherine R Glenn (0000-0003-2497-6000, Department of Psychology University of Rochester Rochester NY USA, corresponding author), Evan M Kleiman (0000-0001-8002-1167, Department of Psychology Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey New Brunswick NJ USA), John K Kellerman (0000-0002-1929-8228, University of Rochester), John Kellerman (Department of Psychology University of Rochester Rochester NY USA), Olivia H Pollak (0000-0003-1898-6093, Columbia University), Olivia Pollak (Department of Psychology Teachers College, Columbia University New York NY USA), Christine B Cha (Department of Psychology Teachers College, Columbia University New York NY USA), Erika C Esposito (0000-0002-3519-0946, Department of Psychology University of Rochester Rochester NY USA), Andrew C Porter (0000-0001-9839-0462, Department of Psychology University of Rochester Rochester NY USA), Peter A Wyman (0000-0002-4283-1430, Department of Psychiatry University of Rochester Medical Center Rochester NY USA), Anne E Boatman (Department of Psychology University of Rochester Rochester NY USA)
Year2020
Volume61
Issue3
Pages294-308
Publication date2020-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9630 • E-ISSN: 1469-7610
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jcpp.13106
PMID31373003
OpenAlexW2965749712
LanguageEN
Citations received69
References cited91

Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth worldwide. The purpose of the current review was to examine recent cross‐national trends in suicide mortality rates among 10‐ to 19‐year‐olds. This study extracted suicide mortality data from the World Health Organization's (WHO) Mortality Database for the most recent year (since 2010) from any country with available high‐quality data (as defined by the WHO's guidelines). Data on access to lethal means (firearms, railways) and measures of economic quality (World Bank Income Group) and inequality (Gini coefficients) were obtained from publicly available data sources. Cross‐national suicide mortality rates in youth were heterogeneous. The pooled estimate across all ages, sexes, and countries was 3.77/100,000 people. The highest suicide rates were found in Estonia, New Zealand, and Uzbekistan. Suicide rates were higher among older compared with younger adolescents and higher among males than females. The most common suicide methods were hanging/suffocation and jumping/lying in front of a moving object or jumping from a height. Firearm and railway access were related to suicide deaths by firearms and jumping/lying, respectively. Economic quality and inequality were not related to overall suicide mortality rates. However, economic inequality was correlated with a higher ratio of male:female suicides. This study provides a recent update of cross‐national suicide trends in adolescents. Findings replicate prior patterns related to age, sex, geographic region, and common suicide methods. New to this review are findings relating suicide method accessibility to suicide mortality rates and the significant association between income inequality and the ratio of male:female suicide. Future research directions include expanding the worldwide coverage to more low‐ and middle‐income countries, examining demographic groupings beyond binary sex and to race/ethnicity within countries, and clarifying factors that account for cross‐national differences in suicide trends.

Injury prevention · Medical emergency · Meta-analysis · Poison control · Psychiatry · Suicide prevention · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Medicine · Psychology · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies · Youth Substance Use and School Attendance

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub