Sanford Rebecca L, Frey Laura M, Thind Neetika, Butcher Brock, Maple Myfanwy
School of Social Work and Human Service, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada.
Couple & Family Therapy Program, Kent School of Social Work & Family Science, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA.
Omega (Westport). 2023 Aug 20:302228231196616. doi: 10.1177/00302228231196616.
Suicide exposure research has relied on samples of treatment-seeking kin, resulting in an attachment-based model centering bereavement as the most significant form of impact and obscuring other forms of significant and life-altering impact. From a community-based sample ( = 3010) exposed to suicide, we examine a subset ( = 104) with perceived high impact from the death yet low reported closeness to the person who died and analyze qualitative comments ( = 50). On average and out of 5.00, participants rated closeness as 1.56 but impact of death as 4.51. We illustrate dimensions of low closeness and identify themes on the meaning of impact: impact through society and systemic circumstances, impact through history and repeated exposure, impact through other people, impact as a motivator for reflection or change, and impact through shared resonance. Participants reported impact of death as significant or devastating, yet none of their comments reflected experiences typical of bereavement.
