ArticleSocial science & medicine (1982)2018
The stigma associated with bereavement by suicide and other sudden deaths: A qualitative interview study.
Article in Social science & medicine (1982), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 117 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perceived Effectiveness of Components of Interventions to Support People Bereaved By Suicide.Crisis · 2025Pooled it
- A suicide bereavement model: based on a meta-ethnography of the experiences of adult suicide loss survivors.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- What Are the Experiences of Mental Health Practitioners Involved in a Coroner's Inquest and Other Inquiry Processes after an Unexpected Death of a Patient? A Systematic Review and Thematic Synthesis of the Literature.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Pooled it
- Exploring prolonged grief disorder through Iranian cultural beliefs: a qualitative thematic analysis.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Article
- Guardians of Memory, Dignity, and Family Cohesion: The Enduring Protective Role Underpinning Suicide-Bereaved Mothers' Psychosocial Needs and Engagement with Mental Health Care.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2026Article
- Understanding the relationship between suicide-related stigma and suicidal thoughts through the lens of the Integrated Motivational-Volitional (IMV) model of suicide.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Jarring Encounters: Discomfort, Disruption, and Dominant Narratives of Suicide.Qualitative health research · 2025Article
- Suicide-related stigma and its relationship with help-seeking, mental health, suicidality and grief: scoping review.BJPsych open · 2025Review
- Emergency nurses' experiences of caring for brought-in-dead persons and their relatives-a qualitative study.Journal of advanced nursing · 2025Article
- Regulating community well-being through traditional mourning rituals: Insights from the Luhya People of Kenya.Evolution, medicine, and public health · 2025Article
- Article
- Regulating community well-being through traditional mourning rituals: Insights from the Luhya People of Kenya.Evolution, medicine, and public health · 2025Article
- Supportive and non-supportive social experiences following suicide loss: a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Qualitative inquiry into the experience of suicide loss, aftereffects and coping strategies of suicide-bereaved Greek-speaking parents in Cyprus.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2023Article
- Investigating risk of self-harm and suicide on anniversaries after bereavement by suicide and other causes: a Danish population-based self-controlled case series study.Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2023Article
- Article
- Longitudinal Changes in Suicide Bereavement Experiences: A Qualitative Study of Family Members over 18 Months after Loss.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Exploring Sociodemographic Correlates of Suicide Stigma in Australia: Baseline Cross-Sectional Survey Findings from the Life-Span Suicide Prevention Trial Studies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- The relationship between social acknowledgment and prolonged grief symptoms: a multiple mediation effect of beliefs about the goodness and controllability of grief-related emotions.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2023Article
- Coping Styles Utilized during Suicide and Sudden Death Bereavement in the First Six Months.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Quantitative studies have found that suicide bereavement is associated with suicide attempt, and is perceived as the most stigmatising of sudden losses. Their findings also suggest that perceived stigma may explain the excess suicidality. There is a need to understand the nature of this stigma and address suicide risk in this group. We aimed to describe and compare the nature of the experiences of stigma reported by people bereaved by suicide, sudden unnatural death, and sudden natural death, and identify any commonalities and unique experiences. We conducted a population-based cross-sectional survey of 659,572 staff and students at 37 British higher educational institutions in 2010, inviting those aged 18-40 who had experienced sudden bereavement of a close contact since the age of 10 to take part in an on-line survey and to volunteer for an interview to discuss their experiences. We used maximum variation sampling from 1398 volunteer interviewees to capture a range of experiences, and conducted individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews to explore perceptions of stigma and support. We continued sampling until no new themes were forthcoming, reaching saturation at n = 27 interviews (11 participants bereaved by suicide). We employed thematic analysis to identify any distinct dimensions of reported stigma, and any commonalities across the three groups. We identified two key themes: specific negative attitudes of others, and social awkwardness. Both themes were common to interviewees bereaved by suicide, sudden unnatural death, and sudden natural death. All interviewees reported the experience of stigmatising social awkwardness, but this may have been experienced more acutely by those bereaved by suicide due to self-stigma. This study provides evidence of a persistent death taboo in relation to sudden deaths. There is potential for anti-stigma interventions to reduce the isolation and social awkwardness perceived by people bereaved suddenly, particularly after suicide loss.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.