Why Should Developmental Scientists Engage in Research on Adolescent Suicide? The Case for Developmentally Informed Suicidology

Abstract

Adolescent suicide is a critical and prevalent issue yet is rarely studied by developmental psychologists. We assert that developmentalists’ lack of engagement has stymied progress on adolescent suicide research and practice, and we demonstrate how developmental perspectives can contribute to the next decade of research and practice in suicidology. Specifically, we (a) review theories in suicidology (that are largely a-developmental); (b) discuss how developmental phenomena may explain findings regarding the epidemiology of adolescent suicide; (c) review the evidence on the etiology of adolescent suicide, where efforts to identify risk factors have not led to strong predictions, highlighting underutilized approaches from the developmental risk and resilience literature; and (d) review strategies and developmental gaps across the suicide prevention continuum from primary prevention to postvention, recommending an adolescent developmental perspective on the development and study of school- and community-based suicide prevention and postvention. In doing so, we propose a new subfield of Developmentally Informed Suicidology.