Family Survivors of Suicide & Accidental Death: Consequences for Widows

13 widows whose husbands had committed suicide were compared with 13 widows whose husbands had died in accidents. Interviews suggested more guilt & blaming in suicide survivor families. However, on questionnaires, suicide survivors showed no more family dysfunction, life stress or psych symptoms than accident survivors. The findings raise questions about the validity of generalizations based on the clinical literature regarding the uniquely pathogenic impact of suicide on family functioning.