The Impact of Suicide on the Family
Abstract
Abstract. Little research has examined the consequences of a suicide for social or family networks. Because suicide occurs within families, the focus on the aftermath of suicide within families is an important next step to determine exactly how to help survivors. In this article, we review and summarize the research on the impact of suicide on individuals within families and on family and social networks. We begin with a discussion of family changes following suicide. Next, we discuss the effects of suicide on social networks overall and responses of children and the elderly to a suicide in the family. Finally, we identify key issues that remain to be resolved in family survivor research and make recommendations for future studies.
References
(2004). AFSP and NIMH Propose Research Agenda for Survivors of Suicide. Retrieved on April 1, 2006, from www.afsp.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.viewpage&page_id=2D9DF73E-BB2 5-0132-3AD7715D74BFF585
(2003). The healing alliance: How families use social support after a suicide. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 47, 187–202
(1989). Development of the Grief Experience Questionnaire. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 19, 201–215
(1992). Psychiatric effects of exposure to suicide among the friends and acquaintances of adolescent suicide victims. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 629–639
(1972). Survivors of suicide. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas
(1966). Children's disturbed reactions to parental suicide. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 47, 196–206
(2000). Predictors and correlates of bereavement in suicide support group participants. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 30, 104–124
(2006). Childhood bereavement: Psychopathology in the 2 years postparental death. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 681–690
(1999). Suicide-bereaved children and adolescents: A controlled longitudinal examination. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38, 672–679
(2000). Suicide-bereaved children and adolescents: II. Parental and family functioning. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 437–444
(2005). Suicidal behavior in the family and adolescent risk behavior. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36, 352–16
(2001). Bereavement after suicide - How far have we come and where do we go from here?. Crisis, 22, 102–108
(1991). The enigma of suicide. New York: Simon & Schuster
(1987). The psychological and social experience of suicide survivors. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 18, 175–215
(1992). Changes in grief and mental-health of bereaved spouses of older suicides. Journals of Gerontology, 47, 357–366
(2003, October 28). And still, echoes of a death long past. The New York Times, D1,
(2002). The grief experiences and needs of bereaved relatives and friends of older people dying through suicide: a descriptive and case-control study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 72, 185–194
(2000). In the wake of suicide: Survivorship and postvention. In R.W. Maris, A.L. Berman, & M.M. Silverman (Eds.), Comprehensive textbook of suicidology (pp. 536-561). New York: Guilford
(in press). Interventions for suicide survivors: A review of the literature. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior,
(2001). Is suicide bereavement different? A reassessment of the literature. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 31, 91–102
(1993). Observations on loss and family development. Family Process, 32, 425–440
(1999). Chronic stress and mortality among older adults. Journal of the American Medical Association, 282, 2259–2260
(2002). Family functioning and family typology after an adolescent or young adult's sudden violent death. Journal of Family Nursing, 8, 49–
(1987). Survivor family relationships: Literature review. In E.J. Dunne, J.L. McIntosh, & K. Dunne-Maxim (Eds.), Suicide and its aftermath: Understanding and counseling the survivors (pp. 73-84). New York: Norton
(1988). Family survivors of suicide and accidental death: Consequences for widows. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 18, 137–148
(1980). Suicidal behavior in latency-age children. An outpatient population. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 19, 703–710
(2000). Child survivors of parental death from cancer or suicide: Depressive and behavioral outcomes. Psycho-Oncology, 9, 1–10
(1997). Child survivors of suicide: Psychosocial characteristics. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 65–74
(1998). When a loss is due to suicide: Unique aspects of bereavement. In J.H. Harvey (Ed.), Perspectives on loss: A sourcebook (pp. 213-220). Philadelphia, PA: Brunner/Mazel
(1985). Public reactions to child suicide: Effects of age and method used. Journal of Community Psychology, 13, 288–294
(1990). Responses following suicide and other types of death - The perspective of the bereaved. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 21, 311–320
(1988). Attitudes toward suicide survivors as a function of survivors relationship to the victim. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 19, 125–133
(2004). Psychological stress and the human immune system: A meta-analytic study of 30 years of inquiry. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 601–630
(1995). Parental bereavement after suicide and accident: A comparative study. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 25, 489–492
(1976). The aftermath of parental suicide for children. British Journal of Psychiatry, 129, 267–276
(1996). Survivors of suicide. In K.J. Doka (Ed.), Living with grief after sudden loss: Suicide, homicide, accident, heart attack, stroke (pp. 41-51). Washington, DC: Hospice Foundation of America
(1993). The role of social support in bereavement. In M.S. Stroebe, W. Stroebe, & R.O. Hansson (Eds.), Handbook of bereavement: Theory, research, and intervention (pp. 397-410). New York: Cambridge University
(1991). Recent bereavement from suicide and other deaths - Can people imagine it as it really is. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 22, 249–259
(2000). A historical perspective on suicide. In R.W. Maris, A.L. Berman, & M. Silverman (Eds.), Comprehensive textbook of suicidology (pp. 96-126). New York: Guilford
(2003). Is caregiving hazardous to one's physical health? A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 946–972
(1992). Perceptions of social support by suicide survivors and their social networks. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 24, 61–73
(1991). Living beyond loss: Death and the family. New York: Norton