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Survivor‐Victim Status, Attachment, and Sudden Death Bereavement
Author(s) -
Reed Mark D.,
Greenwald Jason Y.
Publication year - 1991
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.1991.tb00576.x
Subject(s) - grief , shame , accidental , feeling , disenfranchised grief , psychology , distress , emotional distress , clinical psychology , suicide prevention , psychotherapist , poison control , psychiatry , medicine , medical emergency , social psychology , anxiety , physics , acoustics
This research examines the significance of the survivor‐victim relationship in understanding grief following sudden death bereavement. Data for this study come from medical examiner's reports and mailed self‐report surveys of survivors of suicide and accidental death. In general, the results show that survivor‐victim attachment is more important than survivor's status in explaining grief reactions. Also, suicide survivors experience significantly less emotional distress and shock, but greater feelings of guilt/shame and rejection, than survivors of accidental death. This paper concludes by directing future research to explore more fully the importance of survivor‐victim relationships in understanding grief following bereavement.