Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Ardeshir Bahrami ¹
• Parvaneh Danesh ²
• Zahra Mohammadi ³

¹ PhD Candidate in Sociology, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran

² Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran

³ Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

 
Varamin City has faced an increasing growth in suicide attempts nowadays. The purpose of this research is to study the bases for committing suicide in this city. The approach of this research was qualitative, and the data-based strategy was used to code and analyze the data. The study participants were all young people from Varamin City who were referred to counseling and welfare centers because of a suicide attempt. Sampling was done in a purposeful and theoretical manner and theoretical saturation was achieved after an in-depth individual interview with seventeen people. The validity of the data was also obtained through review by experts and participants, and citations. The findings indicate that the central phenomenon of attempted suicide among young people under study is reproductive inequality. Causal conditions are disorganization of family boundaries, fear of subjectivity and instrumental view, skeptical self-concept, regressive marriage, and obstruction in self-perpetuation (meaningful agency). The bases also showed themselves in the form of categories such as limited charity, unstable mosaic texture, barren kinship/family chains, emotional poverty, and limited environmental awareness. The results show that in order to reduce suicide among young people, it is necessary to organize their action spaces so that they recognize themselves as agents and identity effectors and resist adverse conditions.
Introduction
Varamin City has faced an increasing growth in suicide attempts. The present study was conducted with the purpose of studying the contexts of suicide in this city. The distribution of suicide rate in Tehran province shows an increase in the suicide rate in the southeast of Tehran. According to the report of the Social Emergency Center of Iran's Welfare Organization (2021), the suicide rate in Varamin City ranks second among the eastern cities of the country after Pishva with 5.8 percent and 5.1 percent (the Social Emergency Center of Iran's Welfare Organization, 1400). Furthermore, in the year 2021, in order of priority, Tehran (1044 cases), Varamin (188 cases), Shemiranat (162 cases), Shahryar (160 cases), Islamshahr (145 cases), Shahr Ray (145 cases) attempted suicide that they have received specialized services from welfare centers. As can be seen, after Tehran, Varamin ranks second in Tehran province with 188 suicide attempts. In addition, in terms of suicidal thoughts in the years 2017 to 2020, after Pakdasht City, Varamin City ranks second among the cities of Tehran province with 57 cases of suicidal thoughts and attempts.
Literature Review
Parvin et al. (2018) investigated "Intentional Suicide: Contexts and Consequences" among young people of Pakdasht. The findings show that the social contexts that caused suicide can be investigated in two dimensions, macro and interpersonal. In the macro dimension, these fields are "weakness in temporal integration, generational poverty, and social backwardness." At the interpersonal level, social contexts include "group tensions, unfulfilled sexual desire, unstable family boundaries, and immature relationships." Delam et al. (2019), in a study titled, "Suicide Attempt by Teenagers: A Qualitative Study," showed that the breakdown of emotional relationships, conflict with family, the collapse of family structure, psychological problems, and the use of ineffective coping strategies are causes of suicide in teenagers. Kouchakian and Kaldi (2020) in "Suicide; A Response to the Elimination Cycle” showed that arbitrary behaviors, forbidden behaviors, valuing romantic feelings and a transcendental attitude towards marriage at the individual level, conflicting power hierarchies, lack of discussion and dialogue and participation, conditional support from parents, and limited interactions and lack of commitment are the main causes of suicide in Tehran. Vanberg et al. (2021) in a study titled, "Suicide Attempts and Suicide of Young Women in Turkey," showed that social and economic conditions such as job, family status, rejection, poverty, long-term physical diseases, and also family conflicts in the form of family violence and betrayal lead to suicide among women. Meng (2020) in "Rebellion and Revenge: The Meaning of Female Suicide in Rural China" showed that suicide in China has a different meaning for women of lower status in the family. Suicide as an act of revenge is understood. Suicide for women is a protest against the existing social and economic pressures that have rejected them morally. Keely et al. (2022) have studied the role of youth's perception of social support in explaining suicidal behavior. The results showed that the relationship between the perception of low school support and suicidal thoughts is stronger in those who do not have parental support.
Materials and Methods
The approach of the current research was qualitative and the data-based strategy was used to code and analyze the data. The study participants were all young people who tried to commit suicide in Varamin City and were then referred to counseling and welfare centers. Sampling was done in a purposeful and theoretical manner, and theoretical saturation was achieved after an in-depth individual interview with seventeen people. The validity of the data was obtained through review by experts, review by participants, and citation.
Results
The findings show that reproductive inequality is the central phenomenon of attempted suicide among young people under study. Causal conditions are "disorganization of family boundaries, fear of subjectivity and instrumental view, skeptical self-concept, regressive marriage, and obstruction in self-giving continuity (meaningful agency). The contexts also showed themselves in the form of categories such as "limited good, unstable mosaic texture, kinship/unproductive family chains, emotional poverty, and limited environmental awareness."
Conclusion
In this research, we wanted to study the bases for suicide attempts among the youth of Varamin City. Therefore, reproductive inequality was identified as the central category of suicide attempts. Causal conditions consist of six categories: "disorganization of family boundaries, fear of subjectivity and instrumental view, skeptical self-concept, regressive marriage, and obstruction in self-continuity (meaningful agency). The bases or contexts also showed themselves in the form of categories such as "limited charity, unstable mosaic texture, barren kinship/family chains, emotional poverty, and limited environmental awareness."
Keywords: Suicide, Fear of Subjectivity and Failure, Unstable Mosaic Texture, Limited Charity, Regressive Marriage.
 

Keywords

• Suicide
• Fear of Subjectivity and Failure
• Unstable Mosaic Texture
• Limited Charity
• Regressive Marriage

Main Subjects

• Sociology