Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-b95js Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-22T08:52:28.965Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Aftermath of Parental Suicide for Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

D. M. Shepherd  and
B. M. Barraclough
D. M. Shepherd
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology and Social Administration, University of Southampton, Southampton SO9 5NH
B. M. Barraclough
Affiliation:
MRC Clinical Psychiatry Unit, Graylingwell Hospital, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 4PQ
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Thirty-six children between the ages of 2 and 17 bereaved by the suicide of a parent were followed up after 5 to 7 years. The children's home life before bereavement had been abnormal because of mental illness, and family disruption and pre-suicide stresses were significantly related to present functioning. An incidence of psychological morbidity greater than that of a comparison group was observed. Some children appear to cope with the experience of parental suicide without serious consequences; for a few there was relief from an insupportable situation.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 129 , Issue 3 , September 1976 , pp. 267 - 276
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1976 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anthony, S. (1971) The Discovery of Death in Childhood and After. London: Allen Lane.Google Scholar
Barraclough, B., Bunch, J., Nelson, B. & Sainsbury, P. (1974) A hundred cases of suicide. British Journal of Psychiatry, 125, 355–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1969, 1973) Attachment and Loss. London: The Hogarth Press.Google Scholar
Bunch, J. Barraclough, B., Nelson, B. & Sainsbury, P. (1971) Suicide following bereavement of parents. Sociol Psychiatry, 6, 193–9.Google Scholar
Cain, A. C. & Fast, I. F. (1966) Children's disturbed reactions to parent suicide. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 36, 873–80.Google Scholar
Ferri, E. (1975) Personal communication.Google Scholar
Furman, E. (1974) A Child's Parent Dies. New York: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (1966) Children of Sick Parents. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (1972) Maternal Deprivation Reassessed. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Shepherd, Daphne & Barraclough, B. M. (1974) The aftermath of suicide. British Medical Journal, ii, 600–3.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.