Using visual research methods to explore first-person accounts of suicide behavior

There are growing calls for studies using qualitative methods to better understand the socio-historical contexts that are associated with increasing, and differential, rates of suicidal behavior across national settings. Fontbona and Warr discuss a study that uses a qualitative research design combining visual (drawings and photographs) and visual elicitation methods (interviews) to explore first-person accounts of suicidal behavior among young adults in Santiago, Chile. This methodological approach yields rich insights into the interactions between individual biographies and socio-cultural factors leading to suicidal behavior. They discuss the use of visual methods for research addressing highly sensitive topics and ethical issues that are associated with the vulnerability of participants who have recently experienced considerable emotional and psychological distress, and strategies for protecting the confidentiality and privacy of participants when using visual research methods.