Psychosocial autopsy in cases of suicide in child and adolescent populations: A Systematic review

Autopsia psicosocial en casos de suicidio en poblacion de niños y adolescentes: Una revisión sistemática

Resumen

The purpose of the study was to develop a systematic review to explore psychosocial autopsy in cases of completed suicide in a population of children and adolescents. The methodology was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) and was supported by a quantitative approach, grounded in the principles of exploratory systematic reviews. The search considered publications in English focusing on the last five years (2020-2025) to compile the most recent studies in this thematic line, of which six investigations were included, identified in the SpringerOpen, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The results indicate that social networks can be a risk for adolescent suicide by encouraging victimization and imitation, but also provide peer support, which highlights the need for digital literacy and cyberbullying prevention. Also, factors such as depression, family violence, and childhood abuse influence suicidal behavior. In addition, psychosocial autopsy is proposed as a key method to identify factors that can predict suicide and develop more effective intervention strategies in this vulnerable population.