LGBTQ+ suicide – A call to action for researchers and governments on the politics, practices, and possibilities of LGBTQ+ suicide prevention.

Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, Vol 45(2), 2024, 87-92; doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000950Previous literature has discussed how minority stress theory can be used in complementary ways with central constructs in explanatory suicide theories (e.g., thwarted belonging and perceived burdensomeness; Joiner, 2007) and humiliation, defeat, and entrapment (O’Connor & Kirtley, 2018). In this editorial, however, the authors argue that these constructs should not be conceptualized solely as individual feelings. Instead, they should be considered as potential consequences of hostile socioeconomic and political climates that position LGBTQ+ people as burdens; which other or alienate LGBTQ+ people, preventing a sense of belonging; and that humiliate LGBTQ+ people in such ways that make it difficult to not feel trapped. This positioning is created and circulated within the very fabrics of our society, and frequently further enabled by media portrayals that can caricaturize and deride LGBTQ+ people. To tackle the challenges outlined in this editorial, it is essential to connect politics with public health. The authors therefore call for those working in suicide prevention to – where safe – find ways to connect their politics with their research practice. They echo the calls made more broadly in suicide prevention that challenging structural determinants of health (Pirkis et al., 2023), which in this instance involves resisting political regressions, must ...
Source: Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research