Unheard narratives: A descriptive phenomenological study of the lived world of adolescents after experiencing a suicide attempt

Iranian adolescents aged 12–19 who had attempted suicide at least once described lives marked by family tension, economic hardship, emotional suffering, school pressure, fragile relationships and a sense of being trapped without a future. A descriptive phenomenological study of 32 adolescents identified six recurring meaning structures in their accounts: family as tension and emotional unsafety; economic hardship as shame and exclusion; emotional suffering and self-harm; school as pressure and potential support; protective connections and anchors of hope; and perceived entrapment and loss of future. These were experiences and perceived contributors reported by participants, not established causes of the suicide attempts.

Researchers purposively recruited 26 girls and six boys from health centers affiliated with Bam University of Medical Sciences. Frontline health-service psychologists conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews designed to explore how the adolescents experienced and made sense of life after attempting suicide. The qualitative analysis was informed by Husserlian phenomenology and followed Colaizzi’s seven-step method. Interview transcripts were analyzed in MAXQDA, with sampling continuing until data sufficiency was reached and no new meanings or subthemes emerged after the 32 interviews.

Several procedures supported the study’s trustworthiness under Lincoln and Guba’s criteria. These included member checking, peer debriefing, an audit trail and reflexive notes. The design centered on participants’ narrated experiences and the structures of meaning they attributed to events in their lives. It did not test causal relationships, compare risk factors quantitatively or measure how frequently particular experiences occurred. The findings therefore describe the accounts of a deliberately selected clinical sample rather than establish the prevalence of these experiences among all adolescents who have attempted suicide.

Family and economic circumstances were closely connected with participants’ descriptions of emotional safety. Adolescents characterized family environments in terms of tension and insecurity, while financial hardship was associated with shame and exclusion. Emotional suffering and self-harm formed another central area of experience. School had an ambiguous place in the narratives: adolescents described pressure and distress, but also identified it as a potential source of support. Protective relationships and anchors of hope offered counterweights to distress, even as some participants described feeling entrapped and unable to envision a future.

Taken together, the interviews suggest that participants experienced their suicide attempts amid accumulating difficulties spanning family, economic, emotional, school and relational domains. Their accounts culminated in perceptions of entrapment and loss of meaning. The researchers concluded that prevention should be multilevel and trauma-informed, while the evidence itself remains grounded in the subjective perspectives of these 32 Iranian adolescents. Because the sample was small, purposively selected and recruited through affiliated health centers, the themes should not be generalized as universal or interpreted as proof that any single difficulty caused an attempt.

Subject of Research: Lived experiences of Iranian adolescents after suicide attempts

Article Title: Unheard narratives: A descriptive phenomenological study of the lived world of adolescents after experiencing a suicide attempt

Article References: Karamshahi, M., Baniasadi, M., Sarani, A., Bejeshk, M., Sarhadi, Z., Bagheri bami, M., Nasiri, S., Tarafdar, M., Salehi, M., Saadatian, N., & Amini, E. (2026). Unheard narratives: A descriptive phenomenological study of the lived world of adolescents after experiencing a suicide attempt. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05620-0

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05620-0

Keywords: adolescent mental health, suicide attempts, descriptive phenomenology, qualitative interviews, Iranian adolescents, family tension, economic hardship, school pressure, self-harm, hope, entrapment, loss of future