Understanding suicide through the narratives of bereaved family members: a qualitative study

Suicide bereavement is characterized by an ongoing search for meaning following the loss. This study aimed to understand how suicide-bereaved family members meaning-making of the suicide, experienced their loss, and perceived possibilities for suicide prevention through their narratives. This qualitative descriptive study included 30 family members of individuals who died by suicide in southern Brazil between 1996 and 2018. Retrospective semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2019. The data were examined using qualitative content analysis through a mixed deductive-inductive process, with hermeneutics informing interpretation. Five categories and 14 subcategories were generated. Across the categories, participants retrospectively reconstructed the meaning of the suicide by connecting the deceased person’s psychological suffering, family relationships, warning signs, circumstances of the death, and their own perceived capacity to intervene. Behaviours and emotional difficulties that had not been understood as signs of risk before the death acquired new meanings afterward. Reflections on preventability combined perceived missed opportunities for recognition or support with acknowledgement of the limits of family action. Participants’ accounts also showed that communication, continuing bonds, and perceived support needs remained part of meaning-making over time; some recognized only later that they might have benefited from psychological care or peer support. Family members’ narratives indicate that meaning-making after suicide extends beyond explaining the death to reinterpreting relationships, personal responsibility, and support needs. These findings suggest that postvention support should be flexible, remain available beyond the immediate aftermath of the loss, and be integrated with suicide prevention efforts.