With a little help from my friends: A follow-up study on the contribution of interpersonal characteristics to posttraumatic growth among suicide-loss survivors.

OBJECTIVE

The study of suicide-loss survivors-specifically the study of healing processes in this population-is scant. This study represents an effort to extend this field by developing a comprehensive understanding of the underlying interpersonal facilitators of posttraumatic growth (PTG) among suicide-loss survivors in an 18-month longitudinal design. Our aim was to examine the key interpersonal factors that influence positive growth among survivors over time.

METHOD

Participants included 156 suicide-loss survivors (132 women and 24 men), aged 18 to 70. Participants completed several questionnaires, tapping the interpersonal factors of self-disclosure, social support, thwarted belongingness, and perceived burdensomeness at T1 (baseline). Moreover, participants were assessed on PTG levels twice: at T1 and again at T2 (18 months later).

RESULTS

Belongingness, self-disclosure, and social support were found to be facilitators of increasing PTG levels at T2. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed that self-disclosure and social support mediate the relationship between belongingness and PTG (T2), beyond the contribution of PTG at T1.

CONCLUSIONS

On the basis of these findings, it can be inferred that the interpersonal factors of belongingness, self-disclosure, and social support play important roles in facilitating PTG among suicide-loss survivors. Thus, basic psychoeducational interventions specifically designed to foster self-disclosure and acquire support can help suicide-loss survivors achieve PTG following their traumatic loss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).