Mason, D., James, D., Andrew, L. et al. (1 more author) (2022) ‘The last thing you feel is the self‐disgust’. The role of self‐directed disgust in men who have attempted suicide: a grounded theory study. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 95 (2). pp. 575-599. ISSN 1476-0835
Abstract
Objective Globally, suicide affects more men than women. Emotional pain underpins many theoretical accounts of suicidality, yet little is known about the role of disgust in suicide. Self-directed disgust, whereby aspects of the self-serve as an object of disgust, has been hypothesised to factor in suicide. This research aimed to explore the processes which link self-disgust to attempted suicide in males.
Method Nine men who had attempted suicide completed semi-structured interviews. The interview data were analysed using a constructivist grounded theory methodology.
Results Three concepts emerged out of the analysis: (1) self-disgust; (2) worthlessness; and (3) the endured emotional distress of ‘the abyss’” – these concepts interweaved, leading the men to experience hopelessness, disconnection and an inability to cope, leading ultimately to their suicide attempt. Throughout this journey, various disgust-related processes worsened men's distress and increased their suicidal risk. Historic adversities prevailed across the data, as did the men's difficulties in understanding their emotions.
Conclusion Self-disgust was an important emotion in the men's experiences of suicide and shaped their views of themselves and their lives. The distancing and repellent properties of self-disgust, in addition to the fear of having their ‘disgustingness’ exposed, increased suicidal risk. Self-disgust appeared more pervasive in the suicidality of men with a history of multiple childhood adversities. The limitations of this research are discussed as implications for clinical practice and directions for future research.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The British Psychological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Keywords: | attempted suicide; emotion; grounded theory; male; qualitative; self-disgust; Child; Disgust; Emotions; Female; Grounded Theory; Humans; Male; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide, Attempted |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 14 Aug 2024 10:26 |
Last Modified: | 14 Aug 2024 10:26 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/papt.12389 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/papt.12389 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:216092 |