Suicidal Ideation, Depression, and Insomnia in Parent Survivors of Suicide: Based on Korean Psychological Autopsy of Adolescent Suicides

Abstract

Background This study aims to evaluate suicidal ideation, depression, and insomnia among parent survivors of adolescents who died by suicide and their relevant risk factors using psychological autopsy results from South Korea. Methods The participants were 42 parent survivors (10 fathers and 32 mothers) of 35 adolescents who died by suicide. We used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and the Korean version of the Insomnia Severity Index to evaluate the mental health of the bereaved parents. We used the Korean Psychological Autopsy Checklist for Adolescents, the Korean Beck Depression Inventory, the Korean Version of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-II, and the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime-Korean versions to evaluate the mental health of deceased adolescents before their deaths. Results The results showed that many parent survivors of suicide had developed clinically significant suicidal ideation, depression, and insomnia (75.6%, 73.2%, and 42.9%, respectively). Furthermore, the higher the incidence of traumatic events experienced by the deceased adolescents, the higher the severity of depression and insomnia experienced by surviving parents. Conclusion We should pay attention that parent survivors of suicide can suffer mental disorders after their offspring's death. In future studies, long-term follow-up studies with larger samples need to generalize our findings and clarify the causal relationship.

Suicide warning signs that are challenging to recognize: a psychological autopsy study of Korean adolescents

“…In our previous study [ 119 ], many adolescents (74.3%) experienced family related trauma, with parental divorce or parent-child separation being the most common (54.3%). In this study, the parents reported that 40% of the deceased experienced family discord during their developmental stage.…”