Suicidal Death of a Spouse: The Social Perception of the Survivor

Investigated the reactions of others to the surviving spouse of an individual who commits suicde. A group of 120 adult citizens responded to a typeset obiturary notice that described the cause of death as either suicide, motor vehicle accident, or leukemia. Results indicated that the surviving spouse of a suicide was perceived differently in several ways. Compared to those spouses of accident & leukemia victims, the suicide spouse was viewed as being more to blame for the death.11 REF. (NBB)