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Suicidality and Self-Harm Among Sexual Minorities in Japan
Anthony S. DiStefano*
California State University, Fullerton, California, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: adistefano{at}fullerton.edu.
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Abstract |
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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.
First published on August 8, 2008, doi:10.1177/1049732308322605
Qualitative Health Research 2008;18:1429.
A more recent version of this article appeared on October 1, 2008
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