Internet Support Groups for Suicide Survivors: A New Mode for Gaining Bereavement Assistance

Abstract

Taken among parents who sustained the loss of a child to suicide this study explores the participation of parents in Internet support groups, comparing their demographic and loss-related characteristics (N = 104) to other parent survivors participating in face-to-face support groups (N = 297). Contrary to expectations that Internet affiliates would be concentrated in under-served rural areas, we found similar levels of urban, suburban, small city and rural residents in both Internet and face-to-face subsamples. Bivariate and multivariate analyses suggested several important factors contributing to interest in Internet grief support including: 24/7 availability and opportunities to invest more time into this type of support group experience. Compared to their face-to-face group counterparts, Internet affiliates experienced greater suicide stigmatization from their families and other associates. Unable to find ready comfort and support from their personal communities, Internet users-and especially highly depressed survivors-sought and obtained valuable help from the Internet support resource.

The Usage of Digital Resources by Swedish Suicide Bereaved in Their Grief Work: A Survey Study

“…For example, as a relatively large portion of suicide bereaved have a sceptical, sometimes negative, attitude toward psychiatry, mental health care, and the pathologization of grief (cf. Feigelman et al, 2008;Schotanus-Dijkstra et al, 2014;Westerlund, 2010), commonly used and well-known measurements, like clinical depression scales, were not used. In this case, the participants were not asked to self-assess ''depression'' but ''nedsta¨mdhet'' (i.e., ''depressed mood'' or ''feeling low''), which, at least in a Swedish context, is a less pathological definition of the consequences of grief and mourning.…”

To mourn and resist stigma: Narration, meaning-making and self-formation after a parent’s suicide

“…However, these different contexts must also be considered as related to one another, since the lack of social support in everyday social networks has been frequently referred to as a highly motivating factor for suicide-bereaved youths seeking social support elsewhere -for instance on the Internet. This finding corresponds with the study by Feigelman et al (2008) of adult suicide bereaved Internet users, which found a correlation between a reported lower degree of social support and greater experience of stigma off-line, and ascribed increased importance of and higher participation frequency in online self-help communities. This thesis highlights the critical but at the same time vulnerable position of the young suicide mourners who seek social support on the Internet.…”

“…It is unknowable whether the mourning youths who appeared on the Internet were more isolated than others in a similar position. This is likely, however, and a general connection has been found between isolation and lack of social support outside the Internet and more frequent involvement in online self-help groups in an extensive study of suicide-bereaved adults (Feigelman et al 2008). The limitations in regard of representativeness discussed above might call into question the generalizability of the research findings.…”

“…Previous studies on online self-help groups for the suicide bereaved have highlighted the importance of communication and exchange of social support between the grievers themselves -first and foremost from the recognition entailed in each other's experiences and grief reactions -and thus its built-in potential for normalization (Feigelman et al 2008;Hollander 2001). In this thesis, the communication about experience with other suicide bereaved in supportive and nonjudgemental social contexts on the Internet has also been proved to work as a potential 'eye-opener', because of the resistance narratives on stigma that circulate and attract attention in such web communities (article IV).…”

Common Therapeutic Factors in Bereavement Groups

“…Bereavement groups are attended by a wide range of individuals in the community and have seen growth due to burgeoning online participation (Altmaier, 2011;Feigelman, Gorman, Beal, & Jordan, 2008). This public interest in bereavement group continues unabated despite question about the effectiveness of bereavement treatment.…”