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Background <p>Women in conflict-affected settings experience high levels of suicidal ideation linked to cumulative trauma, deprivation, and loss, yet little is known about their post-conflict coping and protective factors.</p> Objectives <p>This exploratory, hypothesis-generating qualitative study examined suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and protective factors among women who lived under the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) administration in Mosul (2014–2017).</p> Methods <p>Using a qualitative descriptive design and reflexive thematic analysis, we analysed written self-reports from 14 women attending a sewing programme run by a local non-governmental organisation. Women were invited to describe any suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, and the circumstances around these experiences during the ISIS occupation.</p> Results <p>Three women described suicidal ideation or suicide attempts, which they linked to self-reported trauma indicators such as intrusive memories, persistent low mood, and feelings of guilt. They also linked these experiences with severe post-conflict stressors, including the loss of family members, forced displacement, and deprivation of food, medication, and safe water. These self-reported experiences align with recognised symptoms of post-traumatic stress and depression, though no clinical diagnoses were made. Suicidal behaviour occurred through self-poisoning with antihypertensive medication. Protective factors included religious beliefs, family connectedness, and a sense of responsibility for children, which buffered hopelessness and helped women regulate distress despite ongoing adversity.</p> Conclusions <p>In this exploratory study, suicidal ideation among women in this post-conflict context emerged at the intersection of trauma exposure, cumulative deprivation, and feelings of burdensomeness and thwarted belonging, consistent with the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide. These findings generate hypotheses for future research. They also suggest that trauma-informed psychosocial support, family-based interventions, and protective cultural factors may mitigate suicide risk among women in similar settings. Larger confirmatory studies are needed to test these hypotheses.</p>

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Suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among women during the Islamic state occupation of Mosul in Iraq an exploratory hypothesis-generating qualitative study

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月10日

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  • Karwan A. Perot,
  • Deldar Abdulah,
  • Bewar Sedo

摘要

Background

Women in conflict-affected settings experience high levels of suicidal ideation linked to cumulative trauma, deprivation, and loss, yet little is known about their post-conflict coping and protective factors.

Objectives

This exploratory, hypothesis-generating qualitative study examined suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and protective factors among women who lived under the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) administration in Mosul (2014–2017).

Methods

Using a qualitative descriptive design and reflexive thematic analysis, we analysed written self-reports from 14 women attending a sewing programme run by a local non-governmental organisation. Women were invited to describe any suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, and the circumstances around these experiences during the ISIS occupation.

Results

Three women described suicidal ideation or suicide attempts, which they linked to self-reported trauma indicators such as intrusive memories, persistent low mood, and feelings of guilt. They also linked these experiences with severe post-conflict stressors, including the loss of family members, forced displacement, and deprivation of food, medication, and safe water. These self-reported experiences align with recognised symptoms of post-traumatic stress and depression, though no clinical diagnoses were made. Suicidal behaviour occurred through self-poisoning with antihypertensive medication. Protective factors included religious beliefs, family connectedness, and a sense of responsibility for children, which buffered hopelessness and helped women regulate distress despite ongoing adversity.

Conclusions

In this exploratory study, suicidal ideation among women in this post-conflict context emerged at the intersection of trauma exposure, cumulative deprivation, and feelings of burdensomeness and thwarted belonging, consistent with the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide. These findings generate hypotheses for future research. They also suggest that trauma-informed psychosocial support, family-based interventions, and protective cultural factors may mitigate suicide risk among women in similar settings. Larger confirmatory studies are needed to test these hypotheses.