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Continuing Bonds after Loss by Suicide: A Systematic Review.
Rebecca Goodall1, Karolina Krysinska2, Karl Andriessen2
1Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia.
Summary
People bereaved by suicide often maintain continuing bonds with the deceased, reporting mostly positive experiences. Factors like time since death and social expectations influence these bonds, warranting further research into gender and cause-of-death discrepancies.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Grief Studies
- Mental Health Research
Background:
- Continuing bonds offer an alternative to detachment after bereavement.
- Suicide bereavement is associated with complex grief and adverse mental health outcomes.
- Understanding continuing bonds in suicide bereavement is crucial for support.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and synthesize existing literature on continuing bonds in individuals bereaved by suicide.
- To identify how suicide loss survivors experience and express continuing bonds.
- To explore factors influencing the expression of continuing bonds after suicide.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review conducted following PRISMA guidelines.
- Searched major databases (Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, etc.) for relevant peer-reviewed literature.
- Included 15 studies (2 quantitative, 13 qualitative) published between 2010-2021.
Main Results:
- Individuals bereaved by suicide reported continuing bonds across various domains with predominantly positive experiences.
- Key influencing factors included time since bereavement, relationship to deceased, social expectations, sex, and meaning-making.
- Qualitative study quality was fair; quantitative study quality was poor.
Conclusions:
- Continuing bonds are a common and often positive experience for those bereaved by suicide.
- Discrepancies in continuing bonds between genders and compared to other bereavement causes require further investigation.
- Longitudinal research with representative samples is needed to understand the evolution of continuing bonds in suicide survivors.
