Introduction: Suicidal behaviour among university students is an escalating concern in universities across the globe.
Purpose: A systematic literature review was conducted to explore worldwide prevalence studies on student suicide, the risks and protective factors related to student suicide, and university-based
interventions to combat it.
Method: The search of four major databases (EbscoHost, Scopus, Proquest and Google Scholar) identified 60 studies published in peer-reviewed academic journals between 2015 and 2020. Majority of these publications were from the United States, followed by China and the United Kingdom. Studies in South Africa and the African Continent as a whole were limited in terms of meeting the selection criteria of the review.
Results: The findings indicate that most of the publications ranged from describing suicide risk factors innate to students, such as their demographic and mental health features, to social and
university stressors. Although the studies on protective factors were limited, several psychological, social, and behavioural elements to prevent student suicide were identified.
Conclusion: The Three-Step Theory of suicide was used to discuss the implications of the findings and several several campus- based strategies are provided to combat student suicides.