Hiding and healing: resolving the suicide of a parent or sibling

The purpose of this study was to describe the long-term effects of suicide of a parent or sibling during childhood or young adulthood. A grounded theory approach was used to discover the respondents' perceptions of the meaning of the event and the effects that it had on them. The themes that emerged from the data were experiencing the pain, hiding the pain, and healing the pain. The need to hide the pain often interfered with the process of healing the pain. Findings indicate that many survivors of suicide during childhood experience painful, unresolved grief that affects their well-being in adulthood.