Responding to D. E. Balk (2004) about use of the term "recovery" to describe bereavement outcome, the authors take the view that this term is inadequate. Among the points raised are (a) the term recovery may imply a response to psychological disorder, whereas bereavement responses are generally normative; (b) recovery does not easily allow for…

Interviewed 25 funeral directors concerning family reactions to suicide and other deaths. Subjects reported that suicide produced different reactions by family and different social responses to family than other types of deaths. Suicide was viewed as producing more shame and embarrassment, greater difficulty in coping with death, and greater…

Interviewed survivors (n=12) of family member's suicide and members of survivor's support systems (n=10). Participants completed scales of social support offered or received by family members and scale of recovery from grief. Survivors believed that only other suicide survivors could fully understand them and that they experienced implicit…

Reviews literature on reactions to family members surviving another member's suicide. Investigates three factors determining reaction of others to persons bereaved by suicide: cause of death, characteristics of deceased, and characteristics of respondent. Reviews perceptions that persons bereaved by suicide have of how others view them. Notes…

Interviewed adults (N=52) about bereavement, focusing on how experience led to positive psychological changes. Most respondents described themselves as stronger or more competent in several ways; many reported that bereavement had led to positive experiences with their social support systems. (Author/NB)

Discusses perceptions of the bereaved that make support groups necessary and the process by which such groups work. Notes that bereavement support groups first produce sense of community with other bereaved persons, then allow group members to begin to concern themselves again with issues other than bereavement. (Author/NB)

College students (n=210) read obituaries describing suicidal death of 18-year-old man or woman, in which survivors were described as mother and father, father and stepmother, or mother and stepfather. Found that stepparents were viewed as having been less "close" to victim, as taking less time to "recover psychologically" from loss, and…

Interviewed 57 college students who had recently lost friend or relative by suicide, accident, homicide, or natural death. Those bereaved through suicide or accidental death, more than survivors of other types of deaths, said that people treated them differently after the death; those bereaved through accidents listed more positive responses from…