My interest in coping and survival of young men is my main motivation for
undertaking the field study which this thesis describes. It developed from my concern at the
continuing high level of young male suicide. I begin with some background discussion which
shows some examples of how the community has been informed, particularly on youth
suicide, by reviewing some of the media and government attention to these issues.
Because suicidal behaviour is a gendered social phenomenon, this is followed by a
discussion of some of the problems inherent in the hegemonic masculinity of young men. I
then set out the underlying assumptions, the purpose, aims and theoretical framework of the
study. The main theoretical underpinnings of the study are the theory of poststructuralism, as
explained by the noted writer on gender and education, Bronwyn Davies. The other major
components are Aaron Antonovsky's concepts of Salutogenesis and the Sense of
Coherence. Minor but nevertheless important reference is also made to Edward Sampson's
idea of the dialogic nature of the self.
Following this are two critical reviews of relevant literature. The first addresses
studies of resiliency and coping, while the second examines papers given at recent
Australian conferences on suicide prevention.
Following that I describe the methodology of the study before undertaking an
analysis and interpretation of selected transcripts of interviews.
This is an exploratory attempt at applying postructuralist discourse analysis to the
social problem of male coping skills and male youth suicide. The results describe various
discourses young men used in unstructuied interviews to explain how they cope when they
feel down or depressed.
The main conclusion from the results is that formation of small, confidential,
supportive discussion groups for marginalised young men can be useful for sharing and
developing coping skills and improving their management of stressors, which are everpresent
in the environment. It is argued that the proliferation of such support groups for
young men could have long term benefits in reducing the statistics of young male suicide by
encouraging young men to share their techniques or behaviours of coping with their peers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/219356 |
| Date | January 1996 |
| Creators | Stewart, Matthew F., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Professional & Community Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Matthew F. Stewart |
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