Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Nov 24;23(1):873.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-023-05164-2.

The interplay between suicidal experiences, psychotic experiences and interpersonal relationships: a qualitative study

Patricia Gooding  1   2 , Gillian Haddock  3   4 , Kamelia Harris  3   4 , Menita Asriah  3 , Yvonne Awenat  3   4 , Leanne Cook  3   4 , Richard J Drake  3   4 , Richard Emsley  5 , Charlotte Huggett  3   4 , Steven Jones  6   7 , Fiona Lobban  6   7 , Paul Marshall  6   7 , Daniel Pratt  3   4 , Sarah Peters  3   4
Affiliations

The interplay between suicidal experiences, psychotic experiences and interpersonal relationships: a qualitative study

Patricia Gooding et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Suicidal thoughts, acts, plans and deaths are considerably more prevalent in people with non-affective psychosis, including schizophrenia, compared to the general population. Social isolation and interpersonal difficulties have been implicated in pathways which underpin suicidal experiences in people with severe mental health problems. However, the interactions between psychotic experiences, such as hallucinations and paranoia, suicidal experiences, and the presence, and indeed, absence of interpersonal relationships is poorly understood and insufficiently explored. The current study sought to contribute to this understanding.

Methods: An inductive thematic analysis was conducted on transcripts of 22, individual, semi-structured interviews with adult participants who had both non-affective psychosis and recent suicidal experiences. A purposive sampling strategy was used. Trustworthiness of the analysis was assured with researcher triangulation.

Results: Participants relayed both positive and negative experiences of interpersonal relationships. A novel conceptual model is presented reflecting a highly complex interplay between a range of different suicidal experiences, psychosis, and aspects of interpersonal relationships. Three themes fed into this interplay, depicting dynamics between perceptions of i. not mattering and mattering, ii. becoming disconnected from other people, and iii. constraints versus freedom associated with sharing suicidal and psychotic experiences with others.

Conclusion: This study revealed a detailed insight into ways in which interpersonal relationships are perceived to interact with psychotic and suicidal experiences in ways that can be both beneficial and challenging. This is important from scientific and clinical perspectives for understanding the complex pathways involved in suicidal experiences.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03114917), 14th April 2017. ISRCTN (reference ISRCTN17776666 .); 5th June 2017). Registration was recorded prior to participant recruitment commencing.

Keywords: Interpersonal relationships; Interviews; Non-affective psychosis; Qualitative methods; Schizophrenia; Suicidal behaviours; Suicidal experiences; Suicidal thoughts; Suicidality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

RE is supported by an NIHR Research Professorship (NIHR300051) and the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, part of the NIHR and hosted by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with King's College London. No other co-authors have competing interests or conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conceptual model of the interpersonal social dynamics in the interplay between suicidal experiences, psychotic experiences, and experiencing other people
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Harris K, Gooding P, Peters S, Haddock G. Investigating the perceived impact of psychosis on suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Schizophrenia Bulletin Open. 2020;1(1):38. doi: 10.1093/schizbullopen/sgaa038. - DOI
    1. Tarrier N, Gooding P, Pratt D, Kelly J, Awenat Y, Maxwell J. Cognitive behavioural prevention of suicide in psychosis: A treatment manual. London, UK: Routledge; 2013.
    1. Tarrier N, Kelly J, Maqsood S, Snelson N, Maxwell J, Law H, et al. The cognitive behavioural prevention of suicide in psychosis: a clinical trial. Schizophr Res. 2014;156(2–3):204–210. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2014.04.029. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chapman CL, Mullin K, Ryan CJ, Kuffel A, Nielssen O, Large MM. Meta-analysis of the association between suicidal ideation and later suicide among patients with either a schizophrenia spectrum psychosis or a mood disorder. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2015;131(3):162–173. doi: 10.1111/acps.12359. - DOI - PubMed
    1. DeVylder JE, Lukens EP, Link BG, Lieberman JA. Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among adults with psychotic experiences: data from the collaborative psychiatric epidemiology surveys. JAMA Psychiat. 2015;72(3):219–225. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.2663. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data