“I Will Die by My Own Hand”: Understanding the Development of Suicide Capability in the Narratives of Individuals Who Have Attempted Suicide

Abstract

Suicide capability is a multidimensional concept that facilitates the movement from suicidal ideation to suicide attempt. The three-step theory of suicide posits that three overarching contributors comprise suicide capability: acquired (fearlessness about death and high pain tolerance), dispositional (genetics), and practical (knowledge and access to lethal means) capability. Although extensive research has investigated relationships between individual contributors of capability and suicide attempts, little research has considered how an individual’s capability for suicide develops as a combination of contributors. Given suicide is multifaceted and complex, our understanding of capability development is relatively limited. This potentially negatively impacts prevention and capacity reduction–focused intervention efficacy. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how suicide capability develops. Fourteen community-based suicide attempt survivors were recruited using convenience sampling. Individual narratives were collected using open-ended interviews, and data were analysed using narrative analysis. Results indicated that participant narratives contained two elements. The first included how capability development and suicide attempt facilitation were often underpinned by the relational interplay between acquired and practical contributors. For example, participants without a high pain tolerance seeking attempt methods that were perceived to be painless. The second element contained a novel finding relating to the agentic role of participants when deciding and attempting suicide. Agency was revealed within and across narratives emphasising the active role the individual plays in their movement from ideation-to-action. The role of individual agency in coming to a decision to take one’s own life and then acting warrants further consideration within contemporary suicide theories.