Abstract
Abstract.Background: While there is evidence that suicide-bereaved individuals may be at higher risk for trauma-related outcomes, such as posttraumatic stress disorder or prolonged grief, positive psychology suggests that suicide bereavement may also promote personal growth within the confines of distress characterized as posttraumatic growth (PTG). Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate PTG and what variables, such as reflective rumination, resilience, personality variables, and mood states, contribute to PTG among suicide-bereaved parents. Method: Online survey methods were employed using a convenience sample of 154 parents bereaved by the suicide death of their child within 2 years. Results: Multiple regression analyses revealed that resilience inversely predicted PTG scores, but reflective rumination did not predict PTG. PTG scores were in the low–moderate range and were lower than those of parents bereaved by other causes of death. Items endorsed most strongly corresponded to the PTG factors Relating to Others, Spiritual Change, and Appreciation of Life. Conclusion: In this study, PTG manifests among suicide-bereaved parents, but may be complicated by the proximity to the death and by concurrent brooding and reflective rumination unique to answering the question of “why” in this population.
References
2003). Risk of suicide and spouses's psychiatric illness or suicide: Nested case-control study. British Medical Journal, 327, 1025–1026.
(2005). Midlife suicide risk, partner's psychiatric illness, spouse and child bereavement by suicide or other modes of death: A gender specific study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 59, 407–412.
(1999). Survivors of suicide do grieve differently: Empirical support for a common sense proposition. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 29, 256–271.
(1989). Development of the Grief Experience Questionnaire. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, 19, 201–215.
(2005). Clarifying and extending the construct of adult resilience. American Psychologist, 60, 265–267.
(2004). The foundations of posttraumatic growth: New considerations. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 93–102. 10.1207/s15327965pli1501_03
(2006). Handbook of posttraumatic growth: Research and practice. New York, NY: Erlbaum.
(2014). The continuum of "survivorship": Definitional issues in the aftermath of suicide. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. 10.1111/sltb.12093
(2013). Exposure to suicide and identification as survivor. Results from a random-digit dial survey. Crisis, 34(6), 413–419. 10.1027/0227-5910/a000220
(2000).
(The impact of suicide on relatives and friends . In K. HawtonK. van HeeringenEds., The international handbook of suicide and attempted suicide (pp. 467–484). New York, NY: Wiley & Sons. 10.1002/9780470698976.ch261989). The NEO personality inventory manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
(1992). Revised NEO personality inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
(2001). Do they suffer more? Reflections on research comparing suicide survivors to other survivors. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 31, 83–90. 10.1521/suli.31.1.83.21315
(2008). Posttraumatic growth in bereaved parents. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 21, 344–346. 10.1002/jts.20338
(2008). Posttraumatic growth in former Vietnam prisoners of war. Psychiatry, 71, 359–370. 10.1521/psyc.2008.71.4.359
(2006). Man's search for meaning. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
(2001). Is suicide bereavement different? A reassessment of the literature. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 31, 91–102. 10.1521/suli.31.1.91.21310
(2004). Suicidality and bereavement: Complicated grief as psychiatric disorder presenting greatest risk for suicidality. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 34, 350–362. 10.1521/suli.34.4.350.53737
(1996).
(Clarifying our thoughts . In R. S. WyerEd., Ruminative thought: Advances in social cognition (pp. 189–209). Mahway, MJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.1993). Control groups studies of suicide survivors: A review and critique. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 23, 146–161.
(2012). U.S.A. suicide 2008: Official final data. Washington, DC: American Association of Suicidology. Retrieved from http://www.suicidology.org
. (2006).
(Resilience and posttraumatic growth: A constructive narrative perspective . In L. G. TedeschiR. G. Tedeschi (Eds.), Handbook of posttraumatic growth: Research and practice. New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.2004). Complicated grief in survivors of suicide. Crisis, 25, 12–18. 10.1027/0227-5910.25.1.12
(2013). Challenges and opportunities for suicide bereavement research: the experience of ethical board review. Crisis, 29, 297–304.
(2008).
(A case for inclusion of prolonged grief disorder in DSM-V . In M. StroebeR. HanssonH. SchutW. StroebeEds., Handbook of bereavement research and practice: 21st century perspectives (pp. 165–186). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press.2003). The impact of parental status on the risk of completed suicide. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60, 797–802.
(2002). Suicide risk in relation to family history of completed suicide and psychiatric disorders: A nested case-control study based on longitudinal registers. Lancet, 360, 1126–1130. 10.1016/S0140-6736(02)11197-4
(1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A re-evaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063–1078. 10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.1063
(2003). Child and adolescent survivors of suicide. Crisis, 24, 4–6. 10.1027/0227-5910.24.1.4
(2006).
(Posttraumatic growth after cancer . In L. G. CalhounR. G. TedeschiEds. Handbook of posttraumatic growth (pp. 138–175). New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.1995). Trauma and transformation: Growing in the aftermath of suffering. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
(1996). The Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9, 455–471. 10.1002/jts.2490090305
(2004). The foundations of posttraumatic growth: New considerations. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 93–102. 10.1207/s15327965pli1501_03
(2011). Can we facilitate posttraumatic growth in combat veterans? American Psychologist, 66, 19–24. 10.1037/a0021896
(2003). Rumination reconsidered: A psychometric analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27, 247–259. 10.1023/A:1023910315561
(1992). Perceptions of social support by suicide survivors and their social networks. Omega, 24, 61–73.
(1993). Development and psychometric evaluation of the Resilience Scale. Journal of Nursing Measurement, 1, 165–178. 10.1080/07481189308252610
(2009). The 14-Item Resilience Scale (RS-14). Retrieved from http://www.resiliencescale.com
(1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070. 10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063
(2007). Posttraumatic growth and resilience to trauma: Different sides of the same coin or different coins? Applied Psychology, 56, 417–427. 10.1111/j.1464-0597.2007.00298.x
(