Nursing Postvention for Spousal Survivors of Suicide

Abstract

There is a scarcity of information available with respect to postbereavement outcomes for survivors of the suicide of a loved one. Few studies have focused on postvention therapies for the bereaved, particularly the bereaved survivors of suicide. The major aim of this study was to compare the effects of two theoretically derived nursing postventions, Bereavement Group Postvention (BGP) and Social Group Postvention (SGP), among the widowed whose spouses died of suicide. The findings suggest that both groups experienced an overall reduction in depression and distress. Although participants in the SGP generally showed significant improvement in social adjustment, they tended to be less well adjusted with respect to their parental roles at the end of the 8-week postvention sessions. Comparison of the psychoemotional correlates of grief varied such that there were no significant differences between the postvention groups for social isolation, loss of control, somatization, or death anxiety. The BGP participants experienced significantly reduced levels of anger/hostility and guilt; however, feelings of anger/hostility actually increased for those receiving the SGP. There was a significant reduction in feelings of despair, rumination, and depersonalization for both groups. Although social isolation was not significantly reduced for participants in either group, those receiving the BGP tended to experience a reduction in social isolation and those receiving the SGP showed no changes.