A Narrative Representation of Sociocultural Identity Issues in Suicide Prevention

Suicide prevention is increasingly recognized as a multidimensional challenge shaped not only by psychiatric and clinical determinants, but also by socio-cultural contexts, community norms, identity factors, gender expectations, and structural inequalities. This narrative review synthesizes evidence from recent studies (2020–2025) focusing on socio-cultural issues relevant to suicide prevention. The included literature comprises qualitative inquiries, cross-sectional surveys, longitudinal analyses, community-based frameworks, and social media co-design interventions. Findings highlight the importance of social support, cultural scripts, masculinity norms, stigma, minority stress, socio-economic disadvantages, and media/social-media communication practices in influencing suicidal ideation and attempts. The review also identifies research gaps including over-reliance on qualitative and cross-sectional methods, limited youth-centered rural evidence, insufficient evaluation of psychiatric comorbidities, and a lack of robust studies focusing on socio-cultural identity issues. Recommendations include adopting trauma-informed co-production approaches, strengthening community participation, improving media reporting, and integrating social determinants into suicide risk documentation and prevention frameworks.