The Process of Long-Term Suicide Bereavement: Responsibility, Familial Support, and Meaning Making

Hunt, Quintin A.; Young, Tod A.; Hertlein, Katherine M.

doi:10.1007/s10591-019-09499-5

Cited by 12 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The searches identified fifteen studies reporting on twelve samples. Five studies were conducted in Australia [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ], three in the USA [ 9 , 19 , 20 ], three in the UK [ 21 , 22 , 23 ], two in Israel [ 24 , 25 ], one in Canada [ 26 ], and one in Switzerland [ 27 ]. There were two quantitative and thirteen qualitative studies.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A large percentage (67–89%) of participants in most studies ( n = 9) were female [ 16 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Three studies had equal numbers of both sexes [ 15 , 17 , 23 ], two had slightly more male (57–60%) than female participants [ 9 , 14 ], and one study did not report the sex of participants [ 18 ]. Across studies, the age range was between 8 and 85 years [ 19 , 23 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Time since death ranged between two months and over forty-five years [ 18 , 24 ]. Two studies focused on the grief reactions from five months onwards [ 21 , 22 ], whilst others looked at continuing bonds and grief reactions on a longer-term from five years onward [ 9 ] or within a ten-year period [ 14 ]. Eight studies did not limit participants by time since loss [ 16 , 19 , 20 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], and three included longitudinal data [ 15 , 17 , 18 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The most common experiences included dreams about the deceased (73.4%), feeling the presence of the deceased (53%), and profound coincidences (40.3%) [ 19 ]. In qualitative studies, participants reported the use of rituals and memorials (both physical and online) [ 9 , 16 , 21 , 23 ], spiritual and religious beliefs [ 9 , 26 , 27 ], metaphysical experiences [ 20 , 26 ], physical objects [ 9 ], and suicide-related thoughts and behaviours, such as a desire to join the deceased and/or understand what they went through [ 9 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The process of meaning-making emerged as an important tool in the formation of positive bonds [ 8 ]. Meaning-making refers to the way in which bereaved individuals process the death in a way that holds meaning for them [ 9 ]. The concept of continuing bonds has gained traction over the years, as witnessed through the development of designated instruments [ 10 ] and studies in various bereaved populations (such as after the death of a parent or a child) [ 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Continuing Bonds after Loss by Suicide: A Systematic Review

Goodall

Krysińska

Andriessen

2022

IJERPH

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The concept of continuing bonds as an alternative to detachment from the deceased person has gained traction in grief literature over the years. Those bereaved by suicide are likely to experience various grief reactions and may be at-risk for adverse grief and mental health outcomes. However, it remains unclear how those bereaved by suicide experience continuing bonds. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines. Searches of peer-reviewed literature in Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, Emcare, EBM Reviews, and Scopus identified 15 studies (2 quantitative and 13 qualitative) reporting on 12 samples, published between 2010 and 2021. The study quality of the quantitative studies was poor, but it was fair amongst the qualitative studies. People bereaved by suicide experienced continuing bonds across a variety of domains and reported mostly positive experiences. Factors that tended to have an impact on the expression of continuing bonds included time since bereavement, relationship to the deceased, social expectations, sex of the bereaved, and the ability of the bereaved to make meaning of the death. The review concludes that most participants reported positive experiences with continuing bonds. However, discrepancies between males and females and between those bereaved by suicide and those bereaved by other causes warrants further investigation. In addition, longitudinal community-based research involving representative samples is needed to understand the evolution and experience of continuing bonds over time in those bereaved by suicide and to inform future efforts in supporting them.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Continuing Bonds after Loss by Suicide: A Systematic Review

Goodall

Krysińska

Andriessen

2022

IJERPH

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Interpersonal predictors of suicide ideation and complicated-grief trajectories among suicide bereaved individuals: A four-year longitudinal study

Levi‐Belz

Aisenberg

2021

Journal of Affective Disorders

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The role of depression and use of alcohol and other drugs after partner suicide in the association between suicide bereavement and suicide: cohort study in the Danish population

Pitman,

McDonald,

Logeswaran

et al. 2024

Psychol. Med.

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Background Although suicide bereavement is associated with suicide and self-harm, evidence regarding mechanisms is lacking. We investigated whether depression and substance use (alcohol and/or other drugs) explain the association between partner suicide bereavement and suicide. Methods Linkage of nationwide, longitudinal data from Denmark for the period 1980–2016 facilitated a comparison of 22 668 individuals exposed to bereavement by a partner's suicide with 913 402 individuals bereaved by a partner's death due to other causes. Using causal mediation models, we estimated the degree to which depression and substance use (considered separately) mediated the association between suicide bereavement and suicide. Results Suicide-bereaved partners were found to have a higher risk of suicide (HRadj = 1.59, 95% CI 1.36–1.86) and of depression (ORadj 1.16, 95% CI 1.09–1.25) when compared to other-bereaved partners, but a lower risk of substance use (ORadj 0.83; 95% CI 0.78–0.88). An increased risk of suicide was found among any bereaved individuals with a depression diagnosis recorded post-bereavement (ORadj 3.92, 95% CI 3.55–4.34). Mediation analysis revealed that depression mediated 2% (1.68%; 95% CI 0.23%–3.14%; p = 0.024) of the association between suicide bereavement and suicide in partners when using bereaved controls. Conclusions Depression is a partial mediator of the association between suicide bereavement and suicide. Efforts to prevent and optimize the treatment of depression in suicide-bereaved people could reduce their suicide risk. Our findings might be conservative because we did not include cases of depression diagnosed in primary care. Further work is needed to understand this and other mediators.

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The Process of Long-Term Suicide Bereavement: Responsibility, Familial Support, and Meaning Making

Cited by 12 publications

References 32 publications

Continuing Bonds after Loss by Suicide: A Systematic Review

Continuing Bonds after Loss by Suicide: A Systematic Review

Interpersonal predictors of suicide ideation and complicated-grief trajectories among suicide bereaved individuals: A four-year longitudinal study

The role of depression and use of alcohol and other drugs after partner suicide in the association between suicide bereavement and suicide: cohort study in the Danish population

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