Suicidality is one of the leading causes of death among young adults in the United States and represents a significant health problem worldwide. The suicide rate among adolescents in the United States has increased dramatically in the latest years and has been accompanied by considerable changes in youth suicide, especially among young girls. Henceforth, we need a good understanding of the risk factors contributing to suicidal behavior in youth. An explanatory model for suicidal behavior that links clinical and psychological risk factors to the underlying neurobiological, neuropsychological abnormalities related to suicidal behavior might predict to help identify treatment options and have empirical value. Our explanatory model proposes that developmental, biological factors (genetics, proteomics, epigenetics, immunological) and psychological or clinical (childhood adversities) may have causal relevance to the changes associated with suicidal behavior. In this way, our model integrates findings from several perspectives in suicidality and attempts to explain the relationship between various neurobiological, genetic, and clinical observations in suicide research, offering a comprehensive hypothesis to facilitate understanding of this complex outcome. Unraveling the knowledge of the complex interplay of psychological, biological, sociobiological, and clinical risk factors is highly essential, concerning the development of effective prevention strategy plans for suicidal ideation and suicide.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.