The Impact of Parent Suicide on Children (IN: The Child and Death, ed. by O J Z Sahler)

In Chapter 17, Cain examines the psychological effect of suicide on the bereaved survivor. He limits his discussion to those most profoundly affected, the children of parent suicides. In the sparse literature in this area, a markedly elevated incidence of developmental disturbance has been suggested. The author’s discussion includes guilt, denial, distorted communication, reality distortion, identification, & long-term impact. Brief examples are used in illustration. 25 Refs. (NBB)