Perceptions of adolescents, teachers and parents towards causes and prevention of suicide in secondary school students in Chiang Mai

Abstract

© 2019, Thailand Nursing and Midwifery Council. All rights reserved. Adolescent suicide has become a major public health concern worldwide, including in Thailand. This qualitative descriptive study explored the perceptions of adolescents, teachers and parents towards causes and prevention of suicide in secondary school students in Chiang Mai. Purposive sampling was used to select 40 adolescents for focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews were conducted with 4 parents and 3 school teachers, from October 2014 to February 2015. The data were analyzed using content analysis.The categories of this study were two-fold: 1) the causes of adolescent suicide which could be summarized into four sub-categories, namely parents' expectations, lack of skills to confront problems, feeling lonely from inadequate support, and lack of parental skills, and 2) Prevention of adolescent suicide, which had four sub-categories, namely cultivating self-esteem, parental support and caring, peer support, and supportive school environments.The findings of this study could help as evidence for developing a suicide prevention program for Thai secondary school students and should help parents, teachers and school nurses to understand the emotional needs of adolescents better.