Current Perspectives on Suicidal Behavior: Risk, Prevention, and Critical Moments

Suicide represents a serious public health problem that spans the life cycle and presents specific manifestations at different developmental stages, where the early identification of risk and the development of evidence-based preventive strategies are priorities.

This symposium aims to provide current perspectives on suicidal behavior, addressing risk factors, prevention, and critical moments from different population and methodological perspectives. The presentations included in the symposium analyze the phenomenon in key developmental contexts.

First, the validation of a suicide gatekeeper scale for Spanish-speaking populations will be presented, highlighting its usefulness for early detection and preventive intervention in educational and community settings.

Second, the relationship between postpartum depression and suicidal behavior in women will be addressed, a particularly vulnerable perinatal period which, although situated outside childhood itself, has direct implications for maternal–child well-being and the early prevention of risk.

Finally, the profile of suicide risk among first-year university students will be presented, a stage of life transition characterized by high levels of stress, identity changes, and increased emotional vulnerability.

From a methodological perspective, the symposium highlights the use of contemporary analytical approaches, such as latent class analysis and network analysis, which allow the complexity of suicidal behavior to be captured beyond traditional linear models. These methodologies facilitate the identification of risk subgroups, symptom patterns, and dynamic relationships among relevant psychological variables.

Overall, this symposium proposes an integrative view of suicidal behavior, emphasizing the importance of developmentally sensitive preventive approaches supported by innovative methodological tools, with clear implications for assessment, intervention, and the design of prev