Janet Lohan

Suicide Ideation Among Parents Bereaved by the Violent Deaths of Their Children

Suicidal behaviors of parents bereaved by a childs suicide have received considerable attention by researchers, but deaths by other violent causes have not. We observed 175 bereaved parents for five years following three types of violent death: accidents, homicides, and suicides. The results showed that the incidence of suicidal ideation (SI) among the study parents was 13% ( n = 34) over the 5 years and 9% ( n = 24) at the initial data collection four months after the death of an adolescent or young adult child. Comparisons of study parents grouped by the presence or absence of SI showed that after corrections were made for the number of t -tests conducted, statistically significant differences on three of four outcome variables remained (mental distress, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], but not on acceptance of the childs death). The groups also differed significantly on four of seven mediating variables examined. The hypothesis that parents whose children died by suicide would report the highest incidence of suicidal ideation was not supported. Regression analyses showed that SI was a significant predictor of depression one year, but not five years, after the violent death of a child. The hypothesis that SI would predict both depression and PTSD one year postdeath was not supported. Clinical and policy recommendations are offered.

Parents' Perceptions of Adolescent Sibling Grief Responses after an Adolescent or Young Adult Child's Sudden, Violent Death

The violent death of an adolescent or young adult child is a highly traumatic event for surviving families. A major family adaptation issue relates to individual differences in coping with violent death. This article reports the findings from four data collection points of parental responses over an 18-month time frame to an open-ended question about the difficulties experienced by surviving adolescent children after their siblings death. The data show that parents reported that they perceived little change over time in their childrens responses; surviving adolescents continued to have multiple grief reactions and behavioral changes up to 2 years after the siblings death. There were parental role differences between mothers and fathers across time in the perceptions of sibling grief. Further research is needed to understand the sibling grief process following violent death and to develop nursing interventions to support bereaved families.

Mental Distress and Family Functioning among Married Parents Bereaved by a Child's Sudden Death

A childs sudden death is a highly traumatic event for parents and siblings. This study examined mental distress and family functioning in a sample of 32 married couples that were part of a larger study of parents whose adolescent or young adult children had died suddenly by accident, suicide, or homicide. Parents were recruited into the study 4–7 months after the childs death. Cohesion, flexibility, and mental distress were the variables of interest, and individual scores were compared at three time points: baseline, 6 and 18 months later. The variables examined point to theoretical and practical problems clinicians might encounter when planning interventions with bereaved families to promote optimal coping, cohesion, and flexibility after a childs violent death.

Mental Distress and Family Functioning in Bereaved Parents: Case Examples and Intervention Challenges

Mental distress and family functioning are important adaptive challenges that affect bereaved parents differentially by gender. In this second of two articles, we provide insights into mental distress and family functioning and intervention challenges. The Olson Circumplex Model (Olson, 1985) was used to determine levels of family functioning for 30 couples with children living at home. Based on these results and mental distress scores, four couples were selected for in-depth analysis. Results showed that discrepancies within couples changed over time. It was concluded that both mental distress and family functioning should be addressed jointly in intervention planning.