The Impact of Suicide on Family Survivors: A Review of the Literature and A Proposal for Future Study
Open Access
Author:
Davis, Katherine Elizabeth
Area of Honors:
Human Development and Family Studies
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Keith Robert Aronson, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Kathryn Bancroft Hynes, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
suicide family survivors stigma military suicide Marine spouses impact of suicide
Abstract:
There are roughly six to ten survivors for every suicide. The effects that the surviving spouses, children, and parents have to endure are extensive and unique to this particular bereavement group. Evidence has shown that the main factor separating those who are bereaving suicide and those who are bereaving a different form of death is stigma. Children tend to blame themselves, spouses’ daily roles are disrupted, and parents become depressed and guilt-stricken. One population that has not been studied at all is military families and how they cope with the suicide of a veteran. Because rates of military suicide have been progressively increasing since Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom, more and more families are losing their loved ones. In order to begin studying this phenomenon, a future study of Marine spouse and children has been proposed and how the impact of suicide has affected their lives.
