Meaning-Making Through Psychological Autopsy Interviews: The Value of Participating in Qualitative Research for Those Bereaved by Suicide

Dyregrov, Kari; Dieserud, Gudrun; Hjelmeland, Heidi; Straiton, Melanie Lindsay; Rasmussen, Mette; Knizek, Birthe Loa; Leenaars, Antoon A.

doi:10.1080/07481187.2011.553310

Cited by 54 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Friends representing 30 of the 67 deceased (45%) filled out questionnaires. Based on previous research experience with populations bereaved by potentially traumatizing deaths, a careful and respectful approach was emphasized (Dyregrov, 2004;Dyregrov et al, 2011). because friends of both the youths and the few adults who were killed on Utøya were included.…”

Section: Purpose and Main Objectives Of The Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychosocial functioning after losing a close friend in an extreme terror incident

et al. 2015

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Section: Purpose and Main Objectives Of The Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychosocial functioning after losing a close friend in an extreme terror incident

et al. 2015

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“…In many cases, this opportunity to relay personal experiences has a cathartic effect on the participant, offering validity to their experience which may previously have been unrecognised (Dyregov 2004, Beck 2007Dyregov et al 2011). …”

Section: Qualitative Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whilst there did not appear to be any qualitative studies exploring the impact of interviewing parents who had experienced a fatal child immersion, there have been qualitative studies which have explored parents' experiences of being involved in research following their child's death (Dyregov 2004;Hynson et al 2006;Taneja at al 2007;Dyregov et al 2011). These studies have suggested that the participants found the experience positive overall and suggested that, whilst the interviews were emotionally draining for many participants, they also had a beneficial effect, allowing the opportunity for the participant to vent their feelings and to help others by sharing their experiences and providing further insight into their situation.…”

Section: Qualitative Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies have shown that interviewing parents bereaved by the death of their young child can actually have a cathartic effect, with parents perceiving that they are contributing to significant information that will help others understand their grief and potentially facilitate change (Dyregov 2004;Beck 2007;Dyregov et al 2011).Whilst previous research has suggested a minimum of one year between the death and interview, parents appear to have mixed responses to this question, offering no clear indication of an acceptable time frame (Dyregov 2004). However, what is clear are criteria for the researcher regarding conduct.…”

Section: :2 Ethicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Psycho-social Impact of fatal Child Drowning in Queensland and the Availability and Use of Support

Macintyre¹

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This thesis examines the impact of fatal child (0-18 years) drowning in Queensland, Australia, and the supports available to parents following the death of their child. Using a social constructionist qualitative approach, two sets of participants were interviewed: bereaved parents and service providers. The key areas addressed in this research relate to the experiences of parents following their child's death and the benefits and limitations of community and professional support available to them.Bereavement and bereavement support related to an unintentional child death such as drowning have different elements to other child deaths. There is a dearth of literature that examines optimum support for families who experience a fatal child immersion.Fourteen Queensland parents were interviewed about their experiences following the death of their child, the support services available to and accessed by them, and opportunities for improvement within these services. Seventeen service providers were interviewed about their experiences in dealing with parents of children who had drowned, and the support services offered. Data were thematically analysed. Participants highlighted how life changed forever the day their child drowned. Parents' emotional, physical and spiritual states were compromised and some parents also experienced negative changes in their financial situation. Recurrent fundamental themes were expressed by participants in relation to their overall wellbeing. These were physical and/or emotional health; their sense of identity and the impact on their identity of their perceived failure as protector for their child, surviving children, and spouse; the nature and importance of ongoing relationships with immediate and extended family, friends and colleagues; the importance of continuing to honour their child; and the impact of their child's death on work and finances. Service providers described their specific roles in providing services to parents of fatally drowned children, the professional challenges within those roles and the personal impact of providing this service. Themes include: the relevance of the unique geography of Queensland; resource and referral challenges for many organisations; training and education implications; and the impact of bereavement support work on the providers. A consistent finding for both parents and service providers was the limited understanding across the community and professional services regarding the support families require following an unintentional death such as drowning.ii Attention to improved training and education across community and professional sectors, development of a specialised referral database and further research into school and workplace bereavement policies and procedures were key suggestions. Whilst the child drowning rate is decreasing In Queensland due to a number of intervention strategies, unintentional deaths from drowning continue to occur and impact irreversibly on families.Service providers, like parents, clearly articulated ways to ...

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“…The participants were also made aware of the increased feelings of distress that may occur through being reminded of and talking about traumatizing life experiences in a research interview, and about the possibility of receiving follow-up grief counselling in their home town should such a need arise. However, suicide bereavement research has shown that talking about the suicide loss experience in research interviews is usually experienced as positive, due to the opportunity to further process the experience and to construct meaning from the loss in a supportive context (see for example Dyregrov et al 2011;Omerov et al 2014;Runesson and Beskow 1990). The Regional Ethical Review Board in Stockholm approved the first study (2009/1730-31/5) and the Regional Ethical Review Board in Linköping approved the second study (2012/380-31).…”

Section: Research Interviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Hagström¹

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Anneli Silvén HagströmTo mourn and resist stigma Narration, meaning---making and self---formation after a parent's suicide Printed by LiU---tryck, Linköping, Sweden, 2016 3 ABSTRACTGrief following a parent's suicide has been called 'the silent grief': due to a prevailing stigma connected to suicide as a mode of death, the parent cannot be talked about. This silenced or distorted communication complicates grieving youths' meaning reconstruction centred on the question of why the parent committed suicide -a question inevitably linked to queries of who the deceased parent was, and that ultimately triggers thoughts about who oneself has become in the light of this experience. Previous research has emphasized how vulnerable parentally suicide-bereaved youths are by categorizing them as 'at risk group' of social and psychological problems and even suicide. However, there is scant knowledge about how these young mourners perceive and manage their own grief and need for social supportknowledge that is essential from a professional perspective. The aim of this thesis is to use a narrative research approach to investigate what and how young mourners tell of their experiences in a variety of social contexts: research interviews, a theatre play and two chat contexts on the Internet. Since they actively seek to achieve something through their communication with others, mourning youths are seen as storytellers and social actors, rather than passive victims of circumstance. This thesis shows how these young mourners search for a context outside of their immediate daily networks where they can normalize and liberate themselves and their deceased parent from stigmatizing discourses. The possibility of narrating experiences in a de-stigmatizing context supports a renegotiation of how to make sense of the suicide -from a voluntary and selfish act, to an involuntary and desperate act caused by adverse life situations or 'unbearable pain' and depression. This knowledge is applicable to encounters with parentally suicide-bereaved youths in a professional context, such as social work practice.Keywords: Grief, identity, Internet, narrative, stigma, suicide, theatre, youth 4 SAMMANFATTNING Sorgen efter en förälders självmord har kallats "den tysta sorgen": eftersom självmord alltjämt är en stigmatiserande dödsorsak kan det vara svårt att prata om den döde föräldern. Sådan tystad eller förvrängd kommunikation försvårar unga sörjandes meningsskapande utifrån frågan varför föräldern tog sitt liv -en fråga ofrånkomligen sammankopplad med funderingar om vem den döde föräldern var, vilket ytterst också väcker tankar om vem man själv har blivit i ljuset av denna erfarenhet. Tidigare forskning har betonat självmordsdrabbade barns sårbarhet genom att kategorisera dem som en "riskgrupp" för sociala och psykologiska problem och till och med självmord. Emellertid är kunskapen knapp om hur dessa sörjande unga själva uppfattar och hanterar sin sorg och sina stödbehov -en angelägen kunskap ur ett professionellt perspektiv. Syftet med denna avhan...

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Meaning-Making Through Psychological Autopsy Interviews: The Value of Participating in Qualitative Research for Those Bereaved by Suicide

Cited by 54 publications

References 25 publications

Psychosocial functioning after losing a close friend in an extreme terror incident

Psychosocial functioning after losing a close friend in an extreme terror incident

The Psycho-social Impact of fatal Child Drowning in Queensland and the Availability and Use of Support

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

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