The importance of romantic relationships in preventing suicide

Abstract

Romantic relationships can both attenuate and exacerbate suicide risk. Suicide prevention strategies in the United States have emphasized the importance of healthy connections with others; however, suicide prevention efforts overwhelmingly continue to focus on individual-level interventions. This presents a missed opportunity to prevent suicide through a focus on romantic relationship factors that are strongly associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors. To identify underutilized or new avenues for improving suicide prevention, the current article aims to (a) provide an overview of the literature on romantic relationship functioning and suicide risk in adults to elucidate potential prevention targets, and (b) use a public health framework to highlight evidence-based and emerging avenues to prevent suicide by targeting relevant relationship factors.