Parental Bereavement After Suicide and Accident: a Comparative Study

30 parents bereaved by suicide & 30 parents bereaved because of car accidents were compared. Suicide survivors were more depressed at the first measure (average 6 months after the death) than were accident survivors; this difference disappeared by the second measure (average 9 months). Suicide survivors experienced more shame & life events & also had a greater history of loss. Parental bereavement after suicide appears to differ in many ways & appears to happen more often in vulnerable families.