Objective To review how suicide researchers have defined “culture” or “cultural factors,” identify those linked to suicidality, and propose an operational taxonomy. Methods A scoping review was conducted following PRISMA-ScR and JBI guidelines. Searches in Scopus (from 1996) and Web of Science (from 1900) up to 20 May 2023 included reviews (papers labeled as reviews by these databases) meeting at least one of two criteria: describing the impact of culture or cultural factors on suicidality and/or providing a definition of these terms or related variables. Data extraction covered review characteristics, definitions, and cultural factors. Results Eighteen reviews met inclusion criteria. Only two defined “culture” and one defined “cultural factors.” Sixty-seven distinct variables were identified as cultural factors linked to suicidality; the most frequently cited were gender, familism and acculturation. A hierarchical taxonomy is proposed distinguishing community-level and individual-level factors. The former includes group-specific characteristics that contribute to define a common baseline risk of suicide for all the members of the group. Individual-level factors mainly include those involving person-environment conflicts. Conclusions Conceptual heterogeneity and lack of measurable definitions hinder comparability across studies and limit intervention design. Consensus definitions and stronger collaboration with anthropology are essential to advance understanding and prevention.
I. et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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