Still part of the family: The importance of physical, emotional and spiritual memorial places and spaces for parents bereaved through the suicide death of their son or daughter

Maple, Myfanwy; Edwards, Helen; Minichiello, Victor; Plummer, David

doi:10.1080/13576275.2012.755158

Cited by 27 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Kubler-Ross, 1969). As Maple et al (2013) point out, these older stage-based paradigms continue to inform public policy and dominate Western and lay professional expectations of bereavement (McCabe, 2003). In this narrow understanding, the pressure to resolve grief limits opportunities for remembering the child and involving others.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Memorial sites and Facebook pages help the bereaved to see how events in the past can continue to have value and meaning in the present and for the future. As Maple et al (2013) argue, the constructivist model of grief is founded on the idea of transformation. That is, transformation occurs both within the bereaved and socially which involves "the integration of the representation of the deceased into the social and psychic worlds of the bereaved" (Klass et al, 1996, p. 58).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The grief of bereaved parents who have lost a son or daughter to suicide will be compounded due to the disruption of the "natural" generational order of death as well as potential guilt, isolation and societal exclusion that may result from the aftermath of suicide (Hollander, 2001;Jordan, 2001). The stigma endured from suicide bereavement may result in a form of disenfranchised grief (Maple, Edwards, Minichiello, & Plummer, 2013). Valentine (2009) argues that grieving is a discursive activity which involves creative interplay between society's structures and individual agency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Continuing social presence of the dead: exploring suicide bereavement through online memorialisation

Bailey

Bell

Kennedy

2014

New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia

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The last 10 years have seen a rise in Internet sites commemorating those lost to suicide. These sites describe the life of the deceased and the afterlife of relatives, parents, friends or siblings who have been termed the "forgotten bereaved". It is clear that such sites have implications for continuing bonds and for what many commentators refer to as the continuing social presence of the dead. This paper presents interim findings from ongoing research which focuses on two aspects of suicide memorial websites. First, we explore the extent to which such sites help us understand how the Internet is enabling new ways of grieving and is, in effect, making new cultural scripts. Second, although there is a large body of writing on the management of trauma there is little evidence-based research. The paper draws on face-to-face interviews with owners of suicide memorial sites (family members and friends) and explores how the establishment and maintenance of such a site is an important part of the therapeutic process and how, for grieving relatives, making or contributing to such sites provides ways of managing trauma in the aftermath of a death by suicide.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Continuing social presence of the dead: exploring suicide bereavement through online memorialisation

Bailey

Bell

Kennedy

2014

New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…As part of the healing journey undertaken by the suicide bereaved, there is often an expressed need to develop a narrative about their deceased family member (Maple, Edwards, Minichiello, & Plummer, 2013). Rynearson (2001) describes this need as developing a coherent narrative of what was an incoherent act.…”

Section: Creating Memorial Stories Of Their Deceased Family Membermentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Family Member Suicide Narratives by Investigating Family History

2014

Self Cite

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The complex family environments in which a suicide death had previously occurred were explored in a qualitative study of narratives of suicide-bereaved participants. The participants searched for reasons why the suicide occurred in their family. Family patterning stories and the context of the environment in which the suicide death occurred provided an additional depth of meaning into the relational aspects of the family. Fractured families emerged as an important theme. Shared in the narratives were stories of conditions within the family that may have contributed to vulnerability towards persistent negative feelings about their lives, their family, and their future. The study also identifies the strengths of family culture that led to resilience in the suicide bereaved. These stories highlight the importance of support for those bereaved by the suicide of a close family member and the issues that places people in vulnerable situations that perhaps may explain the increased risk of suicide for those bereaved family members.

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“…(Goffman 1963). Similar to suicide death, the stigma associated with child drowning can result in disenfranchised grief, with families being unable to openly mourn, to receive acknowledgement of their pain or to receive social support (Maple, Edwards, Minichiello, Plummer 2013). Stigmatised grief can also manifest itself in physical symptoms such as somatic problems, physical pains and often chemical changes to the body resulting in a range of health issues (Freeman 2005;Link &Phelan 2006,;Buckley et al 2012).…”

Section: "It Has Been Said That No Parent Ever Gets Over the Grief Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Psycho-social Impact of fatal Child Drowning in Queensland and the Availability and Use of Support

Macintyre¹

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This thesis examines the impact of fatal child (0-18 years) drowning in Queensland, Australia, and the supports available to parents following the death of their child. Using a social constructionist qualitative approach, two sets of participants were interviewed: bereaved parents and service providers. The key areas addressed in this research relate to the experiences of parents following their child's death and the benefits and limitations of community and professional support available to them.Bereavement and bereavement support related to an unintentional child death such as drowning have different elements to other child deaths. There is a dearth of literature that examines optimum support for families who experience a fatal child immersion.Fourteen Queensland parents were interviewed about their experiences following the death of their child, the support services available to and accessed by them, and opportunities for improvement within these services. Seventeen service providers were interviewed about their experiences in dealing with parents of children who had drowned, and the support services offered. Data were thematically analysed. Participants highlighted how life changed forever the day their child drowned. Parents' emotional, physical and spiritual states were compromised and some parents also experienced negative changes in their financial situation. Recurrent fundamental themes were expressed by participants in relation to their overall wellbeing. These were physical and/or emotional health; their sense of identity and the impact on their identity of their perceived failure as protector for their child, surviving children, and spouse; the nature and importance of ongoing relationships with immediate and extended family, friends and colleagues; the importance of continuing to honour their child; and the impact of their child's death on work and finances. Service providers described their specific roles in providing services to parents of fatally drowned children, the professional challenges within those roles and the personal impact of providing this service. Themes include: the relevance of the unique geography of Queensland; resource and referral challenges for many organisations; training and education implications; and the impact of bereavement support work on the providers. A consistent finding for both parents and service providers was the limited understanding across the community and professional services regarding the support families require following an unintentional death such as drowning.ii Attention to improved training and education across community and professional sectors, development of a specialised referral database and further research into school and workplace bereavement policies and procedures were key suggestions. Whilst the child drowning rate is decreasing In Queensland due to a number of intervention strategies, unintentional deaths from drowning continue to occur and impact irreversibly on families.Service providers, like parents, clearly articulated ways to ...

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Still part of the family: The importance of physical, emotional and spiritual memorial places and spaces for parents bereaved through the suicide death of their son or daughter

Cited by 27 publications

References 34 publications

Continuing social presence of the dead: exploring suicide bereavement through online memorialisation

Continuing social presence of the dead: exploring suicide bereavement through online memorialisation

Understanding Family Member Suicide Narratives by Investigating Family History

The Psycho-social Impact of fatal Child Drowning in Queensland and the Availability and Use of Support

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