Social Work Now, Issue 23, pages 15-21.
Evidence suggests that young people aged 15-24 in New Zealand are at increased risk of death by suicide compared with young people in other OECD countries (World Health Organization, 1998). In 1998, the most recent year for which data is available, 138 young people died by suicide (35 young women; 103 young men), a rate of 25.7 per 100,000 population (New Zealand Health Information Service, 2001). Acknowledging the devastating impact of suicidal behaviours on family, friends and community members, the Ministry of Health has prioritised the reduction of young people’s deaths by suicide as a national health goal (Ministry of Health, 1998).
Overwhelmingly, the majority of current knowledge about young people’s suicidal behaviour is informed by public health epidemiology. However, it has been suggested that a useful way of reducing the likelihood of young people’s suicidal behaviours is to broaden current public health understanding of young people’s health and wellbeing. Internationally, qualitative research with young people is providing valuable evidence about the complexities of young people’s health and behavioural concerns (Edley & Wetherell, 1999; Wetherell & Edley, 1999). We considered that a qualitative investigation of young people who had attempted to end their own lives would provide a unique perspective on the complexities of suicidal behaviours and would also provide useful information on suicide prevention and intervention opportunities. Consequently, a research project was undertaken with the aim of exploring young people’s experiences of recovery and wellbeing following a suicide attempt. Comprehensive literature searches indicated that there has been no critical public health work investigating this. The purpose of this article is to provide some practical insight into what enables young people to make a