Mironova, Polina
Rhodes, Anne E.
Bethell, Jennifer M.
Tonmyr, Lil
Boyle, Michael H.
Wekerle, Christine
Goodman, Deborah
Leslie, Bruce
This systematic review examined studies that were school- or population-based, reporting individual-level empirical results on the association between child physical abuse and suicide related behaviours in children and youth. Studies were only included if the perpetrator of physical abuse was identified as a family member, parental figure, or an adult in the home. Children and youth were defined as those aged 18 years or younger, or in grade 12 or less in school-based samples. A systematic literature search was performed using multiple databases. Three cross sectional studies were included as a result of this search. Two longitudinal studies were also included, however the participants in these studies were young adults rather than children and youth. Relevant data were extracted from the five studies. Formal quality assessment rules were not applied, and results were not pooled meta-analytically. Studies were conducted in five countries, with sample sizes ranging from 489 to 7,340. The results of this systematic review suggest that child physical abuse is associated with suicide related behaviours.