Coming out to talk about suicide : gay men and suicidality

McAndrew, S; Warne, T

Abstract

International studies report increased rates of mental health problems and subsequent
suicidality among homosexual populations. While international health-care policy is concerned with
reducing suicide among young people, important research findings relating to gay people and suicidality
remain unacknowledged in the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. This qualitative study,
utilizing single case studies, was used to gain an in-depth understanding of the life experiences
contributing to the suicidality of four gay men. The methodology was psychoanalytically informed,
using free association narrative interviewing. The initial data analysis involved interpretation of each
of the case studies and a subsequent analysis exploring the shared experiences found in each of the
individual narratives. Thematically, these are described as ‘knowing and not knowing’, ‘the centrality
of the father–son relationship’, ‘the loneliness of outsiderness’, ‘leading a double life’, and ‘crime and
punishment’. The significance of the life experiences these themes illustrate reveal why some gay men
might not only experience long-term mental health problems, but also engage in suicidality. Individually
and collectively, the analyses provide important insights for mental health nurses becoming more
attuned to provide sensitive mental health care to those who have a gay sexual orientation.

Citation

McAndrew, S., & Warne, T. (2010). Coming out to talk about suicide : gay men and suicidality. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 19, 92-101. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1447-0349.2009.00644.x

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2010
• Deposit Date: May 9, 2011
• Journal: International Journal of Mental Health Nursing
• Print ISSN: 1445-8330
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Pages: 92-101
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1447-0349.2009.00644.x
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1447-0349.2009.00644.x