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Family Survivors of Suicide and Accidental Death: Consequences for Widows
Author(s) -
McNiel Dale E.,
Hatcher Chris,
Reubin Richard
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
suicide and life‐threatening behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.544
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1943-278X
pISSN - 0363-0234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1943-278x.1988.tb00148.x
Subject(s) - psychiatry , accidental , suicide prevention , psychology , medicine , clinical psychology , poison control , medical emergency , physics , acoustics
The impact of completed suicide on the surviving family was studied. Thirteen widows whose husbands had died through suicide were compared with 13 widows whose husbands had died in accidents. The widows' views of their families' functioning, and the extent of life stress and psychiatric symptoms experienced by the widows, were assessed. Interview data suggested more guilt and blaming in suicide survivor families. However, on standardized questionnaires, suicide survivors showed no more family dysfunction, life stress, or psychiatric symptomatology than accident survivors. Both groups acknowledged clinically significant levels of symptoms. The findings raise questions about the validity of generalizations based on the clinical literature regarding the uniquely pathogenic impact of suicide on family functioning.