The electronic databases ASSIA, Medline, Medline in
Process and PsycINFO were searched for literature
between the years of 1970 and 2012. The year 1970
was selected in order to capture the rise of second
wave feminism, combined with legislative changes
to divorce laws, such as the Divorce Reform Act
(1971) in the UK. The search returned English
language articles that contained the selected search
terms. These search terms comprised relevant
suicide risk measures (suicide; suicide behaviour;
fatal behaviour; suicide attempt; parasuicide;
suicidal ideation; suicide risk) and relevant causal
factors (divorce; separation; relationship
breakdown; marital problems; marital status).
The titles and/or abstracts of 1066 articles were
reviewed (including 18 articles identified through
reference lists). The papers were screened and
appraised with regards to the following selection
criteria