"It feels like the world is falling on your head" : Exploring the link between financial instability, employment insecurity, and suicidality

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Cogan, Nicola and Rasmussen, Susan and Russell, Kirsten and Heap, Dan and Archbold, Heather and Milligan, Lucy and Thomson, Scott and Whittaker, Spence and Morris, Dave and Rowley, Danielle (2025) "It feels like the world is falling on your head" : Exploring the link between financial instability, employment insecurity, and suicidality. Death Studies. pp. 1-12. ISSN 1091-7683 (https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2025.2598324)

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Abstract

This qualitative study explored how financial instability and insecure employment contribute to suicidal thoughts and behaviors among adults living in Scotland. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 individuals who had experienced financial hardship, insecure employment, and suicidality. Reflexive thematic analysis identified key themes, highlighting how financial stressors create a cycle of unmet basic needs, powerlessness, and social isolation, which exacerbates suicidal distress. Workplace conditions including job precarity and lack of support, further intensified these experiences, while protective factors included supportive relationships and proactive help-seeking. A co-creation workshop with participants and stakeholders informed the study’s recommendations, emphasizing the urgent need for strengthened employment protections, fair pay, and improved access to mental health services. The findings support emerging research on the role of employment quality in shaping mental health and suicide risk, demonstrating the need for integrated policy responses that address both workplace conditions and broader socio-economic determinants of mental health.

ORCID iDs

Cogan, Nicola ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0861-5133, Rasmussen, Susan ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6408-0028, Russell, Kirsten ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7034-2749, Heap, Dan, Archbold, Heather, Milligan, Lucy, Thomson, Scott, Whittaker, Spence ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3645-7497, Morris, Dave and Rowley, Danielle;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)