Our latest research looks at young people’s communications about suicidality on a text crisis line:
Van Wyk, J. & Gibson, K. (2022). An Analysis of Young Clients' Communications About Their Suicidality on a Text Message Helpline: I'm Scared of What I Might Do to Myself.” Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 925830.
We conducted focus group interviews with 38 young people to ask them what they thought of youth suicide in New Zealand.
We found that they resisted what they see as a taboo on talking about suicide, saw adults as unwilling to engage in conversations with them about suicide, and were reluctant to seek help for suicide from mental health professionals.
They preferred to talk about suicide with peers, although there are challenges with doing this in person. This has led to a gap in communication between youth and adults on suicide. Link to the journal articles here. In related studies we have investigated what young people themselves gives as reasons for youth suicide drawing both from the focus group data and from an analysis of an internet suicide prevention forum used by young people.
Recent youth suicide research collaborations with Orygen, Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne: