Child and adolescent suicidal and self-harm behavior

Adolescents and children engage in suicidal and self-harm behavior at alarmingly high and increasing rates. Using a biopsychosocial lens, this overview provides a summary of researchers’ current understanding of the motivations underlying child and adolescent suicidality; the epidemiology of pediatric suicide deaths, non-fatal suicidal behavior, and non-suicidal self-harm; the major biological, psychological, interpersonal, and community-level risk factors for these behaviors; and evidence-based suicide prevention and intervention approaches. It also outlines common tools for assessing suicidal risk in pediatric populations. Controversies and future directions for research and practice in this field are delineated.