An Examination of the Early Impact of Bereavement on Psychological Distress in Survivors of Suicide

The impact on mental health of survivors (n = 108) of suicides of older adult spouses (55 years of age and older) in the first 8 weeks of the bereavement process was compared with that of two control groups: older adult survivors of natural deaths (n = 99) and a married non-bereaved group (n = 144). On all measures both survivor groups scored significantly poorer than the non-bereaved controls. Only anxiety was reported significantly more often by suicide survivors than by natural death survivors.