Child survivors of suicide: psychosocial characteristics. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • OBJECTIVE: To describe psychosocial characteristics of children and young adolescents who experienced the recent suicidal death of a parent or sibling. METHOD: Sixteen families with children aged 5 years to 14 years and who experienced the suicidal death of a relative on average within the year of research assessment were recruited from the community and evaluated with standard research instruments for levels of children's psychiatric symptoms and social adjustment. RESULTS: Child survivors of suicide had a higher rate of internalizing symptoms and poorer school adjustments than a standard community sample. Twenty-five percent of the families had children who reported clinically significant symptoms of depression. Approximately 40% of the families included children who reported at least moderate symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Approximately 31% of families had at least one child who reported suicidal ideation, but no child reported a suicide attempt. Significant associations were identified between psychosocial features of the children and parental psychiatric symptoms and stressful life events. CONCLUSION: Child survivors of suicide are at risk for psychiatric symptoms and social maladjustment which require early identification and preventive intervention to minimize risk for more extensive psychosocial morbidity.

publication date

  • January 1, 1997

Research

keywords

  • Caregivers
  • Child of Impaired Parents
  • Mental Disorders
  • Social Adjustment
  • Suicide

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 0031021118

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1097/00004583-199701000-00019

PubMed ID

  • 9000783

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 36

issue

  • 1