TY - JOUR PY - 2008// TI - Suicidality and Self-Harm Among Sexual Minorities in Japan JO - Qualitative health research A1 - Distefano, Anthony S. SP - 1429 EP - 1441 VL - 18 IS - 10 N2 - 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

LA - en SN - 1049-7323 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1049732308322605 ID - ref1 ER -