Lived Experiences of Suicide Risk and Resilience among Alaska Native and American Indian People

Jennifer L. Shaw, Julie A. Beans, Katherine Anne Comtois and Vanessa Y. Hiratsuka
Additional contact information
Jennifer L. Shaw: Research Department, Southcentral Foundation, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
Julie A. Beans: Research Department, Southcentral Foundation, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA
Katherine Anne Comtois: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington, 325 9th Ave, Box 359911, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
Vanessa Y. Hiratsuka: Research Department, Southcentral Foundation, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 20, 1-13

Abstract: This study explored the lived experiences of suicidality and help-seeking for suicide prevention among Alaska Native and American Indian (AN/AI) people in a tribal health system. An interpretive phenomenological approach was used to analyze semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 15 individuals (ages 15–56) with self-reported histories of suicide ideation and/or attempt. Several factors were found to be central to acquiring resilience to suicide risk among AN/AI people across a wide age range: meaningful and consistent social connection, awareness about how one’s suicide would negatively effect loved ones, and knowledge and utilization of available health services. Findings highlight the mutable nature of suicide risk and resilience, as well as the importance of interpersonal factors in suicidality.

Keywords: Alaska Native; American Indian; lived experience; suicide (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/20/3953/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/20/3953/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:20:p:3953-:d:277466

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().