Andriessen Karl, Logan Nina, Ball Shelley-Anne, De Goey Tim, Currier Dianne, Krysinska Karolina
Centre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
StandBy Support After Suicide, Maroochydore, QLD, Australia.
Front Public Health. 2025 May 30;13:1613951. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1613951. eCollection 2025.
Men bereaved by suicide have an increased risk of adverse psychosocial outcomes, including mental health problems and suicidal behaviour. Despite the potentially strong impact of suicide on their life, little is known of how men experience and cope with grief after suicide. The study aimed to investigate men's experiences of the psychosocial impacts of and coping with suicide bereavement.
Adhering to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research, we designed a study involving semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample ( = 34, age = 49.44 years) from across Australia. The transcripts of the interviews were subjected to a codebook thematic analysis.
The analysis identified three themes: (1) immediate reactions, (2) psychosocial impacts, and (3) psychosocial coping. The findings are underscored by the profound, multifaceted impacts of suicide bereavement, from immediate emotional reactions to long-term mental health effects and trauma. Suicide bereavement frequently disrupted participants' close relationships and their role as a carer. Participants' diverse coping strategies included maintaining a bond with the deceased, seeking distraction, or channelling grief into action-oriented approaches. While some potentially maladaptive strategies, such as overworking or substance use, provided temporary relief, other strategies led to personal growth, with some men using their experience to support others or raise awareness about suicide prevention and postvention.
The findings indicate that support must focus specifically on men's experiences of grief after suicide, and appeal to their coping strategies and feelings of responsibility and role as a carer. Further research is urgently needed to establish best practice to support this population, vulnerable to mental health problems and suicidal behaviour.
因自杀而痛失亲人的男性出现不良心理社会后果的风险增加，包括心理健康问题和自杀行为。尽管自杀对他们的生活可能产生强烈影响，但对于男性如何经历和应对自杀后的悲痛却知之甚少。本研究旨在调查男性在自杀丧亲后的心理社会影响及应对方面的经历。
遵循定性研究报告的综合标准，我们设计了一项研究，对来自澳大利亚各地的一个有目的样本（n = 34，年龄 = 49.44岁）进行半结构化访谈。访谈记录进行了编码本主题分析。
分析确定了三个主题：（1）即时反应，（2）心理社会影响，（3）心理社会应对。自杀丧亲带来的深刻、多方面影响凸显了这些结果，从即时的情绪反应到长期的心理健康影响和创伤。自杀丧亲常常扰乱参与者的亲密关系以及他们作为照顾者的角色。参与者的各种应对策略包括与逝者保持联系、寻求分散注意力，或将悲痛转化为以行动为导向的方法。虽然一些潜在的适应不良策略，如过度工作或使用药物，提供了暂时的缓解，但其他策略则带来了个人成长，一些男性利用他们的经历去支持他人或提高对自杀预防和善后的认识。
研究结果表明，支持必须特别关注男性在自杀后的悲痛经历，并诉诸他们的应对策略以及作为照顾者的责任感和角色感。迫切需要进一步研究以确立支持这一易患心理健康问题和自杀行为人群的最佳做法。
