Suicide Resiliency in People with HIV

Abstract

Suicide Resiliency in People with HIV is a phenomenological study into the experiences of people living with HIV who have considered suicide and who are no longer suicidal. This study addressed the following questions: “What are the experiences of people with HIV who consider suicide?” and “What helped them to be resilient to suicide?” These questions are important as suicide is a significant concern for people living with HIV. An increase in suicidal thinking is first evident when a person seeks an HIV diagnosis and continues to be high throughout the course of the disease. HIV is associated with a number of factors that are independently associated with suicide. This includes: pain, stigma and discrimination, isolation, cognitive impairment, and depression. This study involved semi-structured interviews with six individuals who were living with HIV and who had previously attempted suicide. The results were analyzed using NVivo and major themes identified. The main themes that emerged from the interviews have been grouped into four major sections: Suicide, Stressors, External Resources, and Coping.This study also includes a theological reflection on the Book of Job. A number of similarities between the experiences of the co-researchers in this study and the experience of the character of Job in the Book of Job are explored. The information relating specifically to suicide in this study supports much of the previous research on suicide. This study provides indications about the kinds of interventions that will be helpful to those with whom we work as counsellors.