As a public health problem, suicide is regarded as a serious issue, but most importantly growing issue. It is impacting the young generation significantly, considering statistical prevalence, i.e., the second leading cause of death for 15- to 24-year-olds (Diamand et al., 2022). In the 19th century, social scientists, including William Farr and Emile Durkheim, began debates about population-based studies on suicide. The relationship between educational level and suicide was tested by William Farr, whereas Emile Durkheim focused on social factors such as social integration and social regulation (Farr, 1885; Durkheim, 1897/1951). However, the recent research on suicide has been extended to multifaceted dimensions, including a wide range of biological explanations, social and cultural explanations, religious and psychological factors, etc. (Diamond et al., 2022; Chadda and Gupta, 2019; Shen et al., 2025).
Goldsmith et al. (2002) and Khan et al. (2025) are of the opinion that there are ample reasons for suicidality. Khan et al. (2017) assert that micro- to macro-level factors are responsible for suicidality. Research on suicidality extended to different domains with the passage of time. Emile Durkheim's work is a hallmark in suicidality in the 19th century, which was followed by an interdisciplinary trend in the 20th century. More recently, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behaviour and Crises are two key journals which are devoted to issues relevant to suicide. Keeping this in view, it is important to explore the existing available information for understanding suicidality.
Research is growing about suicidality. There are trends in researching suicidality from multiple perspectives. Considering this, recent trends in research have become an important dimension for researchers. First, recent trends in research impact a researcher’s intention to explore an aspect of suicidality. Secondly, exploring the pathways of extension of knowledge in suicide research is also important. This allows the academic community to understand social problems better. Third, accumulation of knowledge and trends in it is important for policy makers, specifically public health experts and researchers. This bibliometric analysis provides a glimpse of recent trends in research in suicidality and provides accumulative knowledge for public health experts to manage intervene in a better manner.
This research aims to investigate the latest trends in suicide research. Based on this aim, the research question is:
What are the major clusters in recently published suicide research?
How are different clusters linked with each other as per the latest trends in suicide research?.
This research is based on a bibliometric analysis of the SCOPUS database. A total of 296 results were obtained from the SCOPUS database when the search was limited to 2025, with the aim of knowing about the latest trends. Filter was applied, i.e., peer-reviewed articles only. VOS Viewer has been used to extract clusters from CSV files extracted from SCOPUS. Different clusters are discussed and contrasted with peer-reviewed literature. With processing on VOS Viewer, the following details from the CSV database from SCOPUS were obtained:
| Items | Clusters | Links | Total strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| 206 | 18 | 653 | 657 |
A total of 296 SCOPUS based peer-reviewed research papers were sampled published in 2025 whereby 18 clusters were extracted through VOS Viewer. In the network, there were 653 links which showed connection between numerous attributes and indicators in the published data. The images are provided below in form of Network Visualization, Density Visualization and Cluster Density.
Network Visualization
Density Visualization
Cluster density
This is bibliometric research and no primary information (such as survey or interview) has been conducted. Therefore, ethical considerations are not relevant as the data has been extracted from SCOPUS database and downloaded in CSV form. The CSV file only included the citations format of the peer-reviewed publications on suicide in 2025. Hence, no contact with humans is involved in this study.
The authors declared that no generative artificial intelligence tools were used to create research data, fabricate sources, or generate substantive scholarly claims in this manuscript. Grammarly is used for minor grammatical correction.
Depression has been identified as the most important and major factor contributing to suicidality, as per recent research. In fact, depression is one of the most cited factors for suicidality in medical, psychological and social research over a period. The bibliometric analysis showed four major dimensions leading to depression among individuals, leading to suicidality as per recent research. Post traumatic disorders leading to poor mental health 8 adolescence is one of their dimensions. Another dimension in the cluster is loneliness, which is also a precursor for poor mental health. This dimension is also important for cross-cultural analysis, as loneliness is reported as one of the major social problems in different cultures, which is also supported by Barreto et al. (2020). Acceptability and addiction-related issues are also linked with depression (Wang et al., 2018). Probably the most important factor extracted linked with depression is childhood experiences, specifically including sexual abuse, leading to depression and suicidality. This finding is supported by Jirakran et al. (2023). This indicates that depression is the outcome of childhood domestic violence and illnesses such as breast cancer. This analysis provides a hint towards depression among severely ill individuals.
Numerous attributes of childhood experiences are under consideration in the latest research, which correlates with suicidality. First, domestic violence has been researched extensively in the recent past. Children who observe and experience domestic violence are vulnerable to developing suicidal behaviours. Secondly, sexual abuse as an experience in childhood increases vulnerability to suicidal behaviors Lopez-Castroman et al. (2013) assert that stress and depressive disorders are part of the personality of individuals who experience sexual abuse in childhood. Stress and depressive disorders are directly correlated with suicidality. Alternatively, positive childhood experiences are found to be protective factors from developing suicidality, as supported by Akbulut (2025). Positive childhood experiences include a wide range of variables, i.e., appropriate parental care, good schooling, peer-group interaction, involvement in physical games, etc. These attributes contribute positively to well-being and happiness, which work as a protective factor. Third, adverse childhood experiences are a part of a cluster of childhood experiences leading to suicidality in the latest research on suicide. Adverse childhood experiences include poor parenting, lack of care and fulfilment of basic needs, domestic abuse, sexual abuse, living in a poor neighborhood and lack of adequate schooling, etc.
Mental health is clustered with two major variables, including PTSD and age. With respect to age, adolescence has been researched widely, i.e., individuals are more likely to develop suicidality when they experience PTSD during adolescence. Research is focused on the cause of PTSD in adolescence, which primarily includes childhood experiences as well as events during adolescence. Among a wide range of factors, including loss of a parent, accidents and educational failure, etc. Cisler & Herringa (2021) expound that “PTSD in adolescents is common and debilitating”. PTSD in adolescence leads to some non-repairable damage to brain structure as well as behavioural development. Economic, social and sexual factors are three key contributors to PTSD in adolescence. Eskander et al. (2020) analysed 159,500 Psychiatric Hospitalizations. The age of the analysed psychiatrist patients was 12–18 years. About 48.7% of PTSD inpatients had suicidal behaviours and had a higher risk, which is a significantly high number.
A cluster of factors shows that acceptance at adolescence is a key variable considering suicidality. Acceptance within family, education set up and neighbourhood work as protective factors from suicidality, whereas lack of acceptance increases vulnerability to suicidality, as supported by Diamond et al. (2022).
Drug is another researched factor in the cluster. Observation and interaction with peers with drug use and abuse is significant in adolescence. The drug is significantly positively associated with suicidality. Wilcox (2004) found that 85 % of the adolescent population who use drugs had some sort of suicidality, with a sample of 1279.
Another cluster of depressive disorders, cultural dimensions, proteomics and loneliness has been identified as the latest trend in suicide research. This cluster indicates a combination of biological and social determinants as the latest trend in suicide research. Most importantly, traumatic experiences in childhood are directly correlated with poor mental health, which plays a mediating and moderating role in developing suicidality (Cheng et al., 2023). Further, experiences at middle age impact individuals differently. For example, unemployment impacts masculinity at middle age, leading to poor mental health, which is directly correlated with suicidality, as supported by McKenzie et al. (2018)
Proteomics and DNA-V have been found in separate clusters, indicating a focus on biological factors contributing to suicidality. A significant portion of research has focused on social, cultural and psychological factors contributing to suicidality, whereas the biological side has been a neglected area. Chadda and Gupta (2019) assert that biological factors include a wide range of attributes contributing to suicidality yet to be neglected. In the cluster, Proteomics have been found connected with cross-cultural, loneliness and major depressive disorder. This cluster is an important indication of the combination of biological factors and social factors. Loneliness is an alarming situation due to the increasing demands of life, specifically in Western countries (Al-Habash et al., 2025).
Recent research by Shen et al. (2025) provides significant evidence that there are biological bases of social isolation and loneliness. This study was based on 42,062 participants across 2,920 plasma proteins in the UK Biobank. More specifically, MR-identified proteins were an important indicator of loneliness. Among such individuals, there is a higher probability of physical illnesses that are the outcome of depression. Depression, which is an outcome of loneliness, is directly correlated with suicidality.
The central cluster in the image shows the risk of suicidality among critically ill individuals, i.e., cancer patients. This recent trend in research is an indication of the expansion of research on suicide in 2025 where medical conditions are focused which is a useful addition to social, cultural and psychological debates on suicidality. Grobman et al. (2023) support these findings by asserting that there is elevated risk of suicidal ideation among patients under treatment for cancer as well as those who are remission stage. Most importantly, age plays a mediating role; for example, the higher the age of patients with cancer, the higher the risk of suicidality is.
This bibliometric analysis provides a glimpse of recent trends in research in suicidality and provides accumulative knowledge for public health experts to manage intervene in a better manner. This research indicates the multifaceted nature and extension of research with respect to suicidality. This research provides a hint that the biological basis connected with social life can be explored further in terms of its association with suicidality, which can be further researched in the form of case studies. In addition, quantitative studies on the moderating and mediating role of proteomics in social life and health outcomes can be explored in connection with suicidality.
It is concluded that with 18 clusters, multifaceted dimensions of suicidality are researched in 2025. Depression and childhood experiences are the core focus of researchers on suicidality in 2025 and can be labelled as the most recent focus of researchers. Considering this, mental health is researched in 2025, where age and experiences are explored in connection with mental health, specifically depression, i.e., unemployment impacts middle-aged individuals leading to poor mental health, which is associated with suicidality. Further, with respect to age, adolescence has been researched widely, i.e., individuals are more likely to develop suicidality when they experience PTSD during adolescence. Drug is another researched factor in the cluster. Observation and interaction with peers with drug use and abuse is significant in adolescence. Proteomics and DNA-V have been found in separate clusters, indicating a focus on biological factors contributing to suicidality. Proteomics have been found to relate to cross-cultural loneliness and major depressive disorder. Critically ill patients, i.e., cancer survivors, are at increased risk of suicidality, which has been researched in recent times.