Understanding the Experience of a Suicide Attempt - Essay Example

THEMATIC ANALYSIS Introduction There has been an upsurge in the use of qualitative methodology for data collection (Braun & Clarke, 2006). One of qualitative data collection methods is interviews. Conducting an interview is one great way of getting people to talk about issues. Its main advantage is that if there are any inconsistencies, they can be challenged immediately and possibly clarified. This implies that any information that appears to be full with errors can be asked by the interviewer for clarifications to be made. Another important thing about interviews is the analysis of information and data collected (Aronson, 1994). This is where theme analysis comes in. Thematic analysis focuses on detectable themes and patterns of living or behavior. The patterns of experience, as espoused by the speaker, can be evaluated and in the end the facts can be derived. The interview for this research work was conducted with the intention of understanding the experience of a suicide attempt. The mother of a young man who committed suicide is interviewed in order to ascertain the developments that led to the suicide. The interviewee is given an opportunity to discuss her understanding of depression, other mental health problems as well as treatment. This is attributed to the fact that her family had a medical history of depression. Method of Analysis Data familiarization is a key component for any successful thematic analysis. To this end, I read through the interview umpteenth times. Each time I sought to find new meanings in words and sentences that should have been straightforward. This is because there are several things that are not directly stated, but rather implied. Only intense study can bring them to light. The next stage was to code the data. Data of similar nature is coded together until all the data falls under a specific category (Salkind, 2010). In this case there are data that deals with early life, symptoms, and even related diseases. These pieces of information are pieced together. However, there are some pieces of data that will not fit naturally into the already emerging and the already established scheme of things. In this case, the interviewer has to theorize them. Searching for themes is also important. This is the stage at which the researcher seeks to match the themes with the already established codes. This is a meticulous process since from it we get the first indications of the patterns we have been searching for (Brettle, 2008). Findings Several findings from the interview make an extremely interesting read because there seem to be some themes that are predominant throughout the whole text. For instance, there is the theme of ‘balance’. This was referred to by i104 at 01:02:43-3, and again at another earlier point in the interview at 01:00:56-4. Repetition of such issues shows that the matter is of importance; therefore, it is worthy of analysis. Another emergent theme in the course of the reading has to do with ‘depression’. This can always be expected to be an issue in instances where suicide is concerned. This is mentioned by the interviewee at 01:02:43-3. The other theme that shows up prominently is the theme of opportunistic diseases. There are several diseases that affect the family. These diseases are mistakenly attributed to suicide. The impact of this is clearly visible in the fact that there is a possibility of many members succumbing to preventable diseases because they are not treated seriously. Finally, there is the issue of psychological impact. There are events that seem to have a psychological impact in as far as the life of the interviewer’s mother is concerned. The father’s impending death is one of them. His sickness is another issue that is likely to have great psychological impact. These findings among many others are revealed to the interviewer using several methods to make the interviewee feel at home. The most notable one is the effort by the interviewer to identify themselves with some of the things said by the interviewee (Cooper, 2008). For instance, he also acknowledges having severe thyroid pain in his teenage years. However, he also mentions that he did not know the possible cause until he saw the doctor (Potter & Wetherell, 1987). Thematic Analysis “Balance’ appears to be the top most thematic issue in this paper. I choose this because the interviewee seems to attribute all the troubles in the family partly to it. Balance is looked at from two angles. On one hand, there is chemical balance which is blamed for some of the conditions that the family has to deal with. There are lots of depression incidences manifested among the family members. This was referred to by i104. However, it is worth noting that depression is not seen by the family members as a family disease. This is ascribed to the fact that it is not treated as a disease, but rather as a condition that should pass with time (Yardley, 2000). On the other hand, there is the general issue of work-life balance. This is explicated in the manner in which the interviewee explicated that after J had been diagnosed to be suffering from depression, they were asked to let him rest. They were not supposed to even wake him up to go to the farm. This is mentioned by i104 at 01:00:56-4. This demonstrates that there is a balance between working and life. As long as people are expected to work, they are to ensure that they are in the best health frame. Reflexive comments Personally, I believe that there are several issues that can be drawn from this interview. First and foremost, I have a strong conviction that there is a strong hereditary component in as far as the young man’s suicide is concerned. The encouraging fact; however, is that this cycle of suicide or attempted suicide is entirely avoidable. This can be done by seeking medication for every single disease (McLeod, 2003). The strong nexus between symptoms in early life and the resulting disease is another important observation. I have noted that there seems to be an abnormal teenage life in the case of all the people mentioned. However, this is not taken seriously. This results in diseases that are more difficult to prevent much later in life (Roth & Fonagy, 1996). In the classroom analysis I strongly suggested that more attention needs to shift to early detection since at this stage is where the vital signs are revealed and can be more easily addressed. Thus, hospital doctors and nurses need to play a greater role in patients’ care working more closely with families like the one above. Appendix KEY: i104 the interviewee, the mother ZB the interviewer J___ her eldest son, who killed himself […] material omitted [sigh] nonverbal information, or supporting notes ... pause 00:36:57-1 time stamp (indicates when in the interview the material was spoken) Notes Transcript Codes i104: Uum, all the way through teenage he had complained about being tired, and we.. Id go with him to the GP, and the GP would say, hes a teenage boy, he is growing, he is incredibly tired and he said you know, we must let them sleep on he said if he wants to sleep on, dont let your husband wake him up to get him out on the farm, he needs to sleep he said they are going through a tremendous amount of changes, teenage boys are tired. So, that was that. I had a horrible teenage, because thats when my thyroid had flared up, and so I was in my early twenties before that was picked up, which is why I kept saying to him you know, ok if you keep on with this tiredness, it wouldnt hurt to get your thyroid looked at because sometimes theres a physical imbalance, that can pass through the family. 01:00:56-4 ZB: Yeah, I have the same thing, so I know- until it was picked up it was horrendous, I just had no idea why I felt so awful. 01:01:02-4 i104: No! And I thought I was going mad, because youve got nothing specific to go on, and...Um, before he was ill, my husband nearly died with Weils disease, you know, the one you get from rats. 01:01:16-1 ZB: Ok 01:01:16-1 i104: And there was one stage where he- and I reminded J____ about it- that when his dad was in hospital, his other brother and I had gone to see him, and he just sat in his bed going dont kill my carves, dont kill my carves and he was really ranting on, and I thought oh I wish T___ wasnt here coz if his daddy dies, this isnt going to be a nice thing References Aronson, J. (1994). A Pragmatic View of Thematic Analysis. The Qualitative Report, 2(1). Retrieved 25 March 2013 from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/BackIssues/QR2-1/aronson.html Bower, P. (2010). Evidence based practice in Counseling and Psychotherapy. BACP Information Sheet (R-2), Lutterworth, UK Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using Thematic Analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101. 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