Risk Factors for Suicide
Biopsychosocial Risk Factors
• Mental disorders, particularly mood disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety
disorders and certain personality disorders
• Alcohol and other substance use disorders
• Hopelessness
• Impulsive and/or aggressive tendencies
• History of trauma or abuse
• Some major physical illnesses
• Previous suicide attempt
• Family history of suicide
Environmental Risk Factors
• Job or financial loss
• Relational or social loss
• Easy access to lethal means
• Local clusters of suicide that have a contagious influence
Socialcultural Risk Factors
• Lack of social support and sense of isolation
• Stigma associated with help-seeking behavior
• Barriers to accessing health care, especially mental health and substance
abuse treatment
• Certain cultural and religious beliefs (for instance, the belief that suicide is
a noble resolution of a personal dilemma)
• Exposure to, including through the media, and influence of others who
have died by suicide
Information about risk and protective factors for attempted suicide is more
limited than that on suicide. One problem in studying nonlethal suicidal behaviors
is a lack of consensus about what actually constitutes suicidal behavior (O'Carroll
et al., 1996). Should self-injurious behavior in which there is no intent to die be
classified as suicidal behavior? If intent defines suicidal behavior, how is it
possible to quantify a person's intent to die? The lack of agreement on such
issues makes valid research difficult to conduct. As a result, it is not yet possible
to say with certainty that risk and protective factors for suicide and non-lethal
forms of self-injury are the same. Some authors argue that they are, whereas
others accentuate differences (Duberstein et al., 2000; Linehan, 1986).