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The effect of the content of suicide notes on grief reactions
Author(s) -
Rudestam Kjell Erik,
Agnelli Paul
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4679(198703)43:2<211::aid-jclp2270430208>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - grief , psychology , blame , content (measure theory) , distress , suicide prevention , poison control , clinical psychology , injury prevention , developmental psychology , psychotherapist , social psychology , medical emergency , medicine , mathematics , mathematical analysis
The present study focused on emotional reactions of suicide survivor‐victims to the content of suicide notes. Using an analogue methodology, married subjects ( N = 48) recorded their emotional responses to four types of simulated suicide notes (other‐blaming, incongruent, self‐blaming, and neutral) presumed left for them by their mates. There were significant differences in reported distress dependent upon type of note. Blame and guilt were found to play primary roles in the grief reactions of the survivor‐victims.