Year: 2009 Source: Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, v.39, no.6, (December 2009), p.588-598 SIEC No: 20100140

To update & expand Rubey & McIntosh’s (1996) survivors of suicide support groups report, SPAN USA did a survey of American support group leaders. 24% of 100 surveys were complete. There are now more survivor groups (from 280 to 417) & the majority of groups now have survivor leaders (78% versus 25%). Groups continue to be small (88% have less than 10 members per session) & meet on a monthly basis (55%). Sharing continues to be a universal experience in groups, which tend to be open-ended (85%). Current groups are newer & more operate without a sponsor. Further research is needed to examine group member perspectives & effectiveness of groups. (10 refs.)