Page 6 - Symposium Flip Book_4.14.21

Searching for a Sense of Place: The Process of How Adolescent

Girls Overcome Suicide

Dr. Tamara Keefner

Background: Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among adolescents and young adults in the United
States. Adolescent suicide is a preventable health problem; however, warning signs are often missed.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to build a grounded theory describing the process of adolescent girls
surviving multiple suicide attempts and overcoming suicide.

Method: The grounded theory method, described by Corbin and Strauss (2015), was chosen as the most
appropriate method for this study. Through this method, the process of choosing suicide as an escape can be
understood by exploring how the participants’ make sense of their own experiences.
Results: In a sample of 12 young female adults ages 18-25, grounded theory methods of constant comparison,
memo-writing, axial, and theoretical coding, searching for a sense of place emerged as the core process
encompassing social process stages of: (1) existing in a toxic environment; (2) seeing suicide as the only way
out; (3) seeing new ways to escape.
Implications for practice: The basic social process in this study, searching for a sense of place, presents an
essential goal to support several policy suggestions for schools, law enforcement, child protection services, and
health care providers.
Conclusion: This study reveals a complex process precedes and follows a suicide attempt among adolescent

girls, suggesting a suicide attempt is not an isolated event. The theory described in this study illuminates
multiple risk factors contributing to a suicide attempt and validates the influence of key risk factors described
elsewhere in the literature. This model provides essential targets for implementing assessment and prevention
programs in the community and private domains, through education and awareness.

The speaker declares no actual or perceived conflicts of interest.