Experiences of Adolescent Suicide Attempters and their Parents in Isfahan, Iran: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

Background: The number of suicide attempts has increasingly grown over the last few years. Describing and stating the experiences suicide attempters have undergone and the consequences of such actions is of significant importance. Hence, this study was performed to uncover and communicate the experiences of young suicide attempters and their parents through a qualitative method and with a phenomenological approach.

Materials and Methods: This study was conducted based on the descriptive phenomenological method. The data collection method was an in‑depth, semi‑structured interview, and 8 adolescents and 8 parents were interviewed. The collected data were then analyzed using Colaizzi’s method.

Results: As a result of scrutinizing the data through Colaizzi’s analysis, 14 subthemes and 4 main themes (helplessness and feeling unsupported, poor self‑esteem, generation gaps, and negative emotions and inappropriate emotional reactions) were derived. The lived experiences of adolescent suicide attempters and their parents indicate that suicide is a complex, painful, and bitter ordeal, and comprehending all of its aspects is not feasible and is hardly achievable.

Conclusions: The findings show that the adolescents were suffering from undesirable and irritating emotional experiences and agitation arising from different factors such as problematic and unsupportive emotional relationships inside and outside the family, generation gap, and losing control of negative emotions.