Consequences of Suicide From a Parent on a Child

Consequences and Effects of Suicide From a Parent on a Child (Years Later)

While the decision to commit suicide is often a personal 'choice', friends and family are often the ones left behind to mourn, to try and find out the reasons that one might have had to take their own life, and also to try and move on with their lives. For these reasons, suicides are often devastating experiences for the loved ones left behind. The study is relevant to a case study of a father who committed suicide. The child had siblings and was living with both parents. The father had a history of abuse (domestic violence) and alcoholism, and he killed himself by hanging. The child was 8 years old at the time, and now 24. He doesn't have a good relationship with the rest of the family, and his best relationship was with the father. Those left behind are at risk of mental disorders, might react in various ways to the pain they go through and even contemplate committing suicide themselves. Some of the reasons why a parent could want to take his or her own life could be: divorce; domestic violence or legal problems. In cases where parents have committed suicide, the effects on the children they have left behind often vary. There are also many other factors that could determine how minors react.

Discussion

A comparison between children whose parents committed suicide and children whose parents died from other causes revealed that the former were generally ashamed, aggressive, anxious and angry. The children whose parents committed suicide like the child in the case whose father committed suicide were also found to report less relief and acceptance than those whose parents died from other causes. However, despite the significant differences, the children had similar experiences of guilt and sadness. Studies have also reported that there are no significant differences in depression and suicidal depression between suicide bereaved minors and minors whose parents died of other causes. However, suicide bereaved minors like in the case reported more depressive symptoms, such as anhedonia, ineffectiveness, interpersonal problems and negative mood when compared to minors whose parents had died of cancer. With regards to psychopathology, suicide bereaved children like in the case reported increased behavioral problems and anxiety compared to children who parents had died of other causes, in the few weeks or months before and after death (Cerel, Jordan & Duberstein, 2008).

When a relative or even a friend commits suicide, the effect is often huge and devastating to both adults and children. However, the effects such as depression, effects on mental health, suicidal tendencies, behavioral problems and the overall grief experience, may be differently expressed overtime. Suicide as shown in the case is often shocking and unsettling and it often results in recurring frightening images, thoughts, and feelings that a child might desperately want to avoid. Some children might want to avoid having such thoughts; others try to avoid or block such thoughts and images by not wanting to talk about the parent who committed suicide. This might be due to the fact that such a child may be feeling that a parent betrayed them or even rejected them. Different studies conducted among suicide-bereaved adolescents have revealed that the emotional closeness between the adolescent and the parent determines the level of anxiety, grief, depression, suicidal ideation and suicidal plans (Andriessen, Draper, Dudley & Mitchell, 2015).

Developing theory in the positive psychology literature insinuates that trauma, for example, suicide bereavement/grief, might also support growth within the confines of sorrow, commonly known as post-traumatic growth. This is a construct of constructive psychological change, which takes place over five areas: relating to others, fresh opportunities, individual strength, spiritual adjustment, as well as gratitude for life. As shown in the case, grief resulting from suicide has been linked with psychiatric disorders like Prolonged Grief Disorder (PG) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Research conducted on emotional memory regarding trauma re-conceptualize the effect of traumatic occurrences, like suicide grief, as memory of an incident, which becomes significant to the identity of the bereaved and personal narrative. It is the memory's review that leads to pathological symptom profiles, like PTSD, as well as grief responses related to continued anxiety with the decedent. The disparities amidst those bereaved by suicide and other death causes might actually be attributable to psychosocial challenges encountered by the suicide victim, which predisposes them to worse bereavement effects. These entail challenging family relations, greater incidence of psychiatric disorders in the respective family, and harsh relationships with the deceased. As evident in the case, there exists proof that suicide within a family might create dysfunctional family patterns and play a role in occurrence of psychiatric disorders within the members of the family, even though the functioning of the family might have been just within normal range before the suicide.