PERCEPTIONS OF LIFE AND DEATH AMONG SUICIDAL GAY ADOLESCENTS

Suicide rates among homosexuals are higher than those among heterosexu als. This article suggests that gay youth who attempt suicide represen t a special case in which the meanings associated with life and death are worth exploration. In light of the phenomenological paradigm, we a re interested in how sixteen gay men who attempted suicide perceived l ife and death before the actual suicide attempt and how these percepti ons are linked to the attempt. Orbach's model specifies four categorie s of attitudes toward life and death: attraction and aversion to life and attraction and aversion to death. Only three categories of Orbach' s model emerged from the interview data. ''Attraction to life'' was mi ssing and the analysis attempts to account for this gap.