A Quantitative and Qualitative Study of Notes Left by Youth Who Died by Suicide in Quebec from 1895 to 1985.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_6C1B9DC6A01F
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
A Quantitative and Qualitative Study of Notes Left by Youth Who Died by Suicide in Quebec from 1895 to 1985.
Journal
Archives of suicide research
Author(s)
Ligier F., Michaud L., Kabuth B., Lesage A., Corriveau P., Séguin M.
ISSN
1543-6136 (Electronic)
ISSN-L
1381-1118
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2020
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
24
Number
4
Pages
554-567
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: ppublish
Abstract
The study of suicide notes and the evolution of their content could contribute to a better understanding of reasons conducive to suicide mortality and offer further prevention strategies. From 1895 to 1985, 706 coroner's inquests of individuals who died by suicide and were 20 years old or younger were found in the province of Quebec. Quantitative analysis compared those who left notes (n = 47) to those who did not leave notes (n = 659). Furthermore, notes were subjected to inductive thematic analysis. Sociodemographic characteristics of the deceased individuals did not change over time. Qualitative analysis revealed four superordinate themes: (1) last wishes, (2) to those I leave behind, (3) about me and how and why I did it, and (4) self-positioning in the world. Only the last theme evolved over the time period considered. Suicide notes shed light on the psychological state of the majority of young note leavers and suggest the persistent feelings of distress and entrapment before the suicide, which may be important factors for caregivers and family members to monitor.
Keywords
Adolescent, Decision Making, Emotions, Female, History, Humans, Male, Narration, Pessimism/psychology, Psychological Distress, Quebec/epidemiology, Sex Factors, Suicide/psychology, Young Adult, Suicide Prevention, adolescent, inductive thematic analysis, suicide notes
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
22/08/2019 8:51
Last modification date
25/02/2023 7:46
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