Self-Perceived Reasons for Suicide Attempts in Sexual and Gender Minorities in Canada.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to examine the self-perceived reasons of suicide attempts among sexual and gender minorities (SGM). We surveyed SGM living in Canada (n = 2778) and respondents who had attempted suicide answered open-ended questions about their perceived reason(s) of their first/only attempt (FOA) and last attempt (LA) (for those who attempted multiple times). Responses were double-coded and categorized as discrete findings. A quarter (25%, n = 695) of the total sample reported a history of suicide attempt, of whom 72% reported multiple attempts. Respondents described a wide variety of reasons for their suicide attempts, with an important number of individuals reporting multiple reasons (corresponding to 47.5% of FOA and 43% of LA). Emotional issues (FOA42.1%, LA44.0%) were the most prevalent category of reasons for suicide attempts followed by experience of mental illness (FOA30.1%, LA36.1%). Other common reasons included violence (FOA23.2%, LA10.2%), interpersonal conflict (FOA13.4%, LA6.0%), stress related to life circumstances (FOA9.5%, LA16.7%), relationship issues (FOA7.9%, LA13.3%), and minority stress related to sexuality (FOA11.1%, LA6.2%) and gender identity (FOA5.0%, LA6.8%). SGM assessments of the reasons underlying their suicide attempts yielded a variety of factors, many of which were absent from the literature on SGM suicide but amenable to tailored interventions.