Exposure to Suicide in the Family: Suicide Risk and Psychache in Individuals Who Have Lost a Family

Suicide is a very emotional and difficult subject for most to talk about. It seems obvious that suicide affects the individual, but what are the psychological effects of those who have lost a family member through suicide, and more importantly, what is risk of suicide in those who have in fact had previous experience with suicide?

Researchers Rui Campos, Ronald Holden, and Sara Santos explored this topic. They compared Portuguese participants who had been previously exposed to suicide with participants who had not, for suicidality over the lifetime. The results of this study found that there was significant difference when it came to suicide behavior between the groups.

The group that had experienced suicide reported that they had suicidal tendencies far more than the control group reported. It seems that we can deduce that exposure to suicide predicts future suicidal behaviours, which is helpful in clinical terms. If we know this, we can implement better programs for those who have lost a loved one to suicide and offer support for people who may not have been directly related to the deceased. By taking these findings into consideration, we may be able to help prevent suicide in a much larger and more impactful way.

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Source:

• http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jclp.22518/full