What Do the Bereaved by Suicide Communicate in Online Support Groups?

Schotanus-Dijkstra, Marijke; Havinga, Petra; Ballegooijen, Wouter van; Delfosse, Lynn; Mokkenstorm, Jan; Boon, Brigitte

doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000225

Cited by 37 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(59 reference statements)

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“…Also, many bereaved by suicide have had a negative experience with mental health practitioners, having experienced how they failed to help and treat their loved ones while they still were alive (cf. Feigelman et al, 2008;Schotanus-Dijkstra et al, 2014). Moreover, digital resources such as Memorial website, Online blog, or Individual Facebook page were not considered to be especially helpful by the bereaved.…”

Section: Which Resources Are Perceived As Most Beneficial?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…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.…”

Section: Variables and Scalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Westerlund

2018

Omega (Westport)

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This study examined Swedish suicide bereaved individuals' use of different resources in their grief work and how they value these resources. The material consisted of a web-based survey, which was analyzed with quantitative methods. The results showed that the psychosocial ill-health was severe among the suicide bereaved participants and that a majority used digital resources in their grief work. The propensity to engage in online support groups or memorial websites was not predicted by the severity of psychosocial consequences following the suicide. However, multiple regressions showed that higher online support group activity predicted more satisfaction with current psychosocial health, while memorial websites seemed to have the opposite effect. This study not only indicates that some digital resources, for example, online support groups, may be an effective way of coping with grief related to suicide loss, but also suggests that memorial websites may increase rumination and in this way cause emotional distress.

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Section: Which Resources Are Perceived As Most Beneficial?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Variables and Scalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Westerlund

2018

Omega (Westport)

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“…Eleven studies examined the ways in which people used specifically designed online suicide forums, 14,21,28,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40] including those designed for people bereaved by suicide. 41 Two studies primarily focused on the ways in which moderators responded to messages posted in the forums, 42,43 and the final two studies examined both of these things. 44,45 Overall, these studies reported a range of benefits to the individual; these included the supportive atmosphere created by site moderators and other forum members, as well as the accessibility and utility of these sites.…”

Section: How Do People Use Social Media Sites For Suicide Prevention-mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…44,45 Overall, these studies reported a range of benefits to the individual; these included the supportive atmosphere created by site moderators and other forum members, as well as the accessibility and utility of these sites. [40][41][42][43][44][45] Benefits also included the opportunity that online environments offer individuals to talk about their feelings and experiences with similar others without being judged. 40,41,44 Additionally, Fu and colleagues 28 found that the majority of responses to a wrist-cutting picture posted online contained messages that were caring, showed empathy or called for help.…”

Section: How Do People Use Social Media Sites For Suicide Prevention-mentioning

confidence: 99%

Social media and suicide prevention: a systematic review

Robinson

Cox

Bailey

et al. 2015

Early Intervention Psych

235

203

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Social media platforms can reach large numbers of otherwise hard-to-engage individuals, may allow others to intervene following an expression of suicidal ideation online, and provide an anonymous, accessible and non-judgmental forum for sharing experiences. Challenges include difficulties controlling user behaviour and accurately assessing risk, issues relating to privacy and confidentiality and the possibility of contagion. Social media appears to hold significant potential for suicide prevention; however, additional research into its safety and efficacy is required.

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“…programs (Kingston, Mihalic, & Sigel, 2016); to more recent types of support such as the support one receives from an online network of support (Kramer, Boon, Schotanus-Dijkstra, van Ballegooijen, Kerkhof, & van der Poel, 2015;Melling & Houguet-Pincham, 2011;Schotanus-Dijkstra, Havinga, van Ballegooijen, Delfosse, Mokkenstorm, & Boon, 2014;Watkins & Jefferson, 2013). What each of these studies has in common is the singular perspective from which social support is often studied.…”

Section: The Problemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple Measures of Family and Social Support as Predictors of Psychological Well-Being: An Additive Approach

Mason¹

2016

JEDP

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The purpose of this study was to (1) examine the direct relations of multiple sources of social support on psychological well-being and (2) to examine the utility of an additive model on these variables, in a sample of 251 participants from a Southwestern Georgia University. The sources of support included family environment, friendship, family and significant other support, father's bonding and mother's bonding. Measures of psychological well-being included the summed total of Ryff's Scale of Psychological Well-Being (PWB), as well as self-confidence-an additional measure of psychological well-being. In addition to direct effects, it was hypothesized that having multiple, rather than fewer sources of support would be more beneficial to an individual. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test the unique variability each variable added, as well as to determine whether the additive model predicted PWB above and beyond singular sources of support. Results revealed that the hypotheses predicting direct relationships between the social supports of interest and PWB were largely supported by the data with the exception of father bonding. Results for the additive model revealed mixed results, indicating that having numerous concurrent support lines are beneficial in certain cases. The importance of having multiple social supports from which one can rely, especially when dealing with stressors and crises are also expressed.

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What Do the Bereaved by Suicide Communicate in Online Support Groups?

Abstract: Online forums appear to have relevant additional value as a platform for talking about grief and finding support.

Cited by 37 publications

References 30 publications

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

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

Social media and suicide prevention: a systematic review

Multiple Measures of Family and Social Support as Predictors of Psychological Well-Being: An Additive Approach

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