Background and Aim
Suicide is a leading cause of death among men aged 25–44 years, an age when many are transitioning to or navigating early fatherhood. Despite this, our understanding of suicidality for men in this unique parenting window is poor. This gap is concerning given the profound impacts of paternal suicide on children, families, and society, and the limited progress in improving suicide prevention. To strengthen detection and support for at-risk fathers, research must examine the interplay of complex and dynamic factors that contribute to suicidality. Hearing directly from fathers with lived experience of suicidality, this study aims to understand how and why suicidality develops, progresses and changes for fathers across the early parenting period.
Method
Using grounded theory methodology, fathers of children aged 0–5 years who have experienced suicidality since becoming parents will be invited to participate in 60–90-minute semi-structured interviews. Participants will be asked to reflect on their experiences and the ways they have navigated suicidality during early parenthood. Responses from fathers will be integrated with researcher memos and analysed using iterative coding and constant comparison to identify patterns within fathers’ narratives and build a theory that explains the processes underpinning suicidality for fathers in early parenthood.
Results
Recruitment and analysis are ongoing. This presentation will share early interpretive insights from fathers’ accounts and discuss the developing conceptual understanding of how suicidality arises and changes for men in early fatherhood.
Conclusions and Implications
Study findings will have important policy and clinical implications. Such understanding can inform more sensitive suicide risk assessment and safety planning, enhance clinician confidence in working with fathers, and guide the design of targeted interventions that better meet the needs of this population.