TY - JOUR
PY - 2020//
TI - It Gets Better videos for suicide prevention in LGBTIQ+ adolescents
JO - Crisis
A1 - Kirchner, Stefanie
A1 - Till, Benedikt
A1 - Ploderl, Martin
A1 - Niederkrotenthaler, Thomas
SP - ePub
EP - ePub
VL - ePub
IS - ePub
N2 - BACKGROUND: The It Gets Better project aims to help prevent suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ+) adolescents. It features personal video narratives portraying how life gets better when struggling with adversities. Research on the contents of messages is scarce. Aims: We aimed to explore the content of videos in the Austrian It Gets Better project regarding the representation of various LGBTIQ+ groups and selected content characteristics.
METHOD: A content analysis of all German-language videos was conducted (N = 192). Messages related to coming out, stressors experienced, suicidal ideation/behavior, and on how things get better were coded.
RESULTS: Representation was strong for gay men (n = 45; 41.7%). Coming out to others was mainly positively framed (n = 31; 46.3%) and seen as a tool to make things better (n = 27; 37.5%). Social support (n = 42; 62.7%) and self-acceptance (n = 37; 55.2%) were prevalent topics. Common stressors included a conservative setting (n = 18, 26.9%), and fear of outing (n = 17; 25.4%). Suicidality (n = 9; 4.7%) and options to get professional help (n = 7; 8.2%) were rarely addressed. Limitations: Only aspects explicitly brought up in the videos were codeable.
CONCLUSION: Videos do not fully represent gender identities and sexual orientations. Messaging on suicidality and professional help require strengthening to tailor them better for suicide prevention.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0227-5910 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000691 ID - ref1 ER -