UCL Division of Psychiatry, University College London, Maple House, 149 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 7NF, UK.
Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, St Pancras Hospital, London NW1 0PE, UK.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Apr 3;15(4):666. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15040666.
People bereaved by suicide are at increased risk of suicide, but evidence is lacking that available interventions reduce suicide risk. Few large-scale studies have described the views of suicide-bereaved people regarding their needs for support. Our objective was to explore the nature of young adults' experiences of support after bereavement by suicide and their views on valued and unhelpful aspects. We conducted a cross-sectional study of staff and students aged 18-40 at 37 United Kingdom (UK) higher educational institutions in 2010, eliciting qualitative responses to two questions probing experiences of support and unmet needs after the suicide of a close contact. We conducted thematic analysis of responses from 420 adults bereaved by suicide, of whom 75% had received support after the loss. We identified three broad descriptive areas corresponding to important aspects of support: value and experiences of the support received; views on specific support needs; and reasons for not seeking support. We found that needs for emotional support exist throughout the social networks of people who die by suicide but are often hidden. Our findings suggest a need for proactive offers of support from family, friends, and professionals after suicide, repeated regularly in case a bereaved person does not feel ready for support early on.
自杀身亡者的亲友有更高的自杀风险，但目前尚无证据表明现有的干预措施能够降低自杀风险。很少有大型研究描述过自杀身亡者亲友对于支持的需求，包括他们对有价值和无益的支持的看法。我们旨在探讨青年在自杀身亡后经历的支持的性质，以及他们对有价值和无益的支持的看法。我们于 2010 年在英国 37 所高等教育机构的员工和年龄在 18 至 40 岁的学生中开展了一项横断面研究，通过两个问题来调查在亲密接触者自杀后的支持经历和未满足的需求，得出定性的回应。我们对 420 名自杀身亡者亲友的回应进行了主题分析，其中 75%的人在失去亲人后得到了支持。我们确定了三个广泛的描述性领域，这些领域对应着支持的重要方面：所得到的支持的价值和体验；对特定支持需求的看法；以及不寻求支持的原因。我们发现，自杀身亡者的社交网络中存在情感支持的需求，但这些需求往往被隐藏起来。我们的研究结果表明，在自杀后，家人、朋友和专业人士需要主动提供支持，并定期重复提供，以防悲痛的人在早期还没有准备好接受支持。
