Sociocultural contexts of attempting suicide among Iranian youth: a qualitative study

Abstract

This paper seeks to illuminate the sociocultural contexts of attempting suicide among Iranian youth. A qualitative approach was employed to uncover the social and cultural dimensions of attempting suicide. In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 participants aged 14-17 years who attempted suicide and were admitted to 2 of the hospitals in Isfahan. A thematic analysis approach was employed. The main themes identified were failure in love, family problems, study, pressure of high expectations and poverty. The findings suggest significant sociocultural influence on attempting suicide in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Exploring sociocultural aspects of suicide is critical in providing effective and culturally-sensitive suicide prevention and care programmes.

What Protects Adolescents from Suicidal Attempt: A Qualitative Study

“…Family problems such as conflict with parents and other family members are the most important causes of suicidal attempts among adolescents (39)(40)(41). On the contrary, sense of family cohesion, emotional support from the family, and a warm relationship between family members are among the most important protective factors against suicidal attempt by adolescents (19,31,42).…”

“…When adolescents are faced with problems in their lives, they show some emotional reactions, the most common form of which is a sense of hopelessness (41). Research suggests that psychological characteristics such as hopelessness increase the risk of suicidal ideation (38,40).…”

Perspectives des adolescents et jeunes adultes sur le suicide : une méta-synthèse qualitative

“…Lachal [28][29][30][31]. La pression des pairs et les attentes normatives deviennent souvent des éléments persécuteurs : l'adolescent ne parvient pas à suivre ces normes, et renforce le rejet en s'isolant d'avantage de ses pairs [30][31][32][33][34]. Il peut s'agir de normes religieuses, culturelles, d'idéal de structure familiale, de réussite scolaire, de beauté, de santé ou de sexualité [31,33,35].…”

“…L'autre est d'abord central dans les déclencheurs du geste suicidaire : rupture, conflit, séparation, perte, absence, sont autant d'éléments mis en avant par les adolescents pour expliquer la temporalité du passage à l'acte [30][31][32]35,[37][38][39][41][42][43]55].…”

“…Les séparations [32,35,38], les dysharmonies et les conflits chroniques [30][31][32][33]35,[37][38][39][41][42][43]55,56], les difficultés relationnelles [36,37], ou le sentiment d'insécurité [56] ou de « déconnexion émotionnelle » [36,56], les pertes [41,42], le souhait de se venger [51] sont autant d'éléments mis en avant par les adolescents pour expliquer la psychopathologie de l'apparition de leurs idéations suicidaires.…”