Citation

Distefano AS. Qual. Health Res. 2008; 18(10): 1429-1441.

Affiliation

California State University, Fullerton, California, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1049732308322605

PMID

18689528

Abstract

In this study, I used ethnographic methods to examine suicidality and nonsuicidal self-harm among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons in Japan. Participants (N = 84) indicated that suicidality and self-harm are serious problems among sexual minorities and tend to be driven by (a) a homophobic/transphobic environment and the negative consequences of sexual minorities either disclosing their true selves or remaining hidden and silent within such an environment; (b) various antecedents to poor mental health; and (c) factors not directly related to being a sexual minority, particularly unemployment and debt in the context of a protracted national economic decline in Japan prior to the study period of 2003-2004. Participants also perceived a potentially higher risk for suicidality and self-harm among sexual minority adolescents and persons in their early 20s; those who work in the entertainment, bar, or sex industries; and survivors of violence perpetrated by intimate partners or family members.

Language: en