Understanding Family Member Suicide Narratives by Investigating Family History

Abstract

The complex family environments in which a suicide death had previously occurred were explored in a qualitative study of narratives of suicide-bereaved participants. The participants searched for reasons why the suicide occurred in their family. Family patterning stories and the context of the environment in which the suicide death occurred provided an additional depth of meaning into the relational aspects of the family. Fractured families emerged as an important theme. Shared in the narratives were stories of conditions within the family that may have contributed to vulnerability towards persistent negative feelings about their lives, their family, and their future. The study also identifies the strengths of family culture that led to resilience in the suicide bereaved. These stories highlight the importance of support for those bereaved by the suicide of a close family member and the issues that places people in vulnerable situations that perhaps may explain the increased risk of suicide for those bereaved family members.