‘People look down on you when you tell them how he died’: Qualitative insights into stigma as experienced by suicide survivors
Abstract
This paper aims to present findings that convey how people felt stigmatized after the loss of a loved one to suicide. A qualitative design was used for the purpose of this study. Data were collected using in-depth, face-to-face interviews. Audio-recordings of the interviews were transcribed and thematically analyzed. Ten people bereaved by suicide participated in the study. Four themes emerged from the data namely: Feeling blamed, shamed and judged; Feeling isolated/rejected by friends and community; Feeling silenced and Feeling the burden of others' discomfort. Findings show that stigmatization of the bereaved by suicide had detrimental effects on their relationships and their help seeking behaviours. Further, due to stigma imposed on them by others, participants were denied the opportunity to tell their stories which further complicated their grieving process. Further education and training is required for health professionals to enhance understanding of the specific needs of those bereaved by suicide.
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Responses by agencies to bereaved people are often insensitive and not aligned with the needs of families affected by suicide.
“Qualitative accounts from bereaved people suggest that responses by agencies are often insensitive and not aligned with the needs of families affected by suicide [22].”
From Support Needs and Experiences of People Bereaved by Suicide: Qualitative Findings from a Cross-Sectional British Study of Bereaved Young Adults (2018) · cites this paper as [22]
Our findings regarding the need for others to initiate support are similar to those from Australian, Danish, and British focus group work.
“Our findings regarding the need for others to initiate support are similar to those from Australian [22,40] and Danish qualitative work [41] and our previously published British focus group discussion [42].”
From Support Needs and Experiences of People Bereaved by Suicide: Qualitative Findings from a Cross-Sectional British Study of Bereaved Young Adults (2018) · cites this paper as [22]
Qualitative findings from Britain, Australia, and African-American communities identify stigma as a significant barrier to accessing appropriate support after suicide bereavement.
“Qualitative findings from Britain [31], Australia [22,32] and African-American communities [33] further identify stigma as a significant barrier to accessing appropriate support after suicide bereavement.”
From Support Needs and Experiences of People Bereaved by Suicide: Qualitative Findings from a Cross-Sectional British Study of Bereaved Young Adults (2018) · cites this paper as [22]
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“Qualitative findings from Britain [31], Australia [22,32] and African-American communities [33] further identify stigma as a significant barrier to accessing appropriate support after suicide bereavement.”
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- Authors
- Peters, K., Cunningham, C., Murphy, G., & Jackson, D.
- Affiliations
- Western Sydney University (AU)
- Thomas Embling Hospital (AU)
- Oxford Brookes University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Peters, Kath
- Venue
- International Journal of Mental Health Nursing
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2016-02-18
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 251-257
- ISSN
- 1445-8330 (ISSN-L)
- 1447-0349
- OpenAlex
- W2276764781
- Cited by
- 76
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 10 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 10.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Mental Health Nursing (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- EPubDev Repository (submittedVersion)
- UTS ePRESS (University of Technology Sydney) (submittedVersion)
- RUNE (Research UNE) (submittedVersion)
- Radar (Oxford Brookes University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
- Keywords
- suicide bereavement, stigma, suicide survivors, grief, social isolation, help-seeking, grief narratives, health professions education
- MeSH terms
- Help-Seeking Behavior, Adult, Bereavement, Family, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Interviews as Topic, Male, Rejection, Psychology, Social Isolation, Stereotyping, Suicide, Survivors, Qualitative Research
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