The Impact of Suicide on Relatives and Friends (IN: The International Handbook of Suicide and Attempted Suicide, edited by K Hawton & K van Heeringen)

This chapter examines current beliefs about suicide bereavement from research & clinical perspectives. An overview of comparative studies looks at the effects of mode of death & predictors of bereavement outcome on the process of adjustment, & places the discussion in a historical perspective. The difficulties of bereavement research are discussed & recommendations for study design are reviewed. The effects of a suicide death on family & friends, the community & the treating therapist are described. Clinical aspects of postvention are discussed. Recent evaluations of postvention programmes are reviewed. (54 refs.)