Suicide and Families a Qualitative

Suicide and Families

A Qualitative Study of the Family Members of Suicide Victims

After reading countless stories of mourning children and grieving parents, one question that surfaces repeatedly when one reads of suicide victims and survivors is "why"?

This ever-present question is in the minds of those left behind, who often do not understand why their loved one is no longer by their side. This paper will attempt to study some family members of suicide victims in a specific neighborhood and see just how once can examine such a population, and what conclusions one can draw from this study.

What will be Examined

The main questions to be tackled in this research will be the following:

What is the location of the study?

Why is the location selected for the study?

What activities will be conducted during the research study?

What is the timetable (dates and time) for conducting the study?

How will results be reported?

How will information be safeguarded?

What will the gatekeeper gain from the study?

In order to begin examining these questions, and after much research, the location of the study has decidedly been selected as the city of Flint in Michigan. This city is not at all a large one, but its population is significantly poorer than the rest of the state. The city was chosen due to this fact, but also due to the fact that the state of Michigan ranks quite high in suicide-related statistics, according to Mental Health America.

The location of the study was thus selected based upon the fact that there are factors within this city that can point it towards having a proclivity towards those issues that will be examined in the research, such as the way that family members of suicide victims are affected after the events.

Indeed, this is an important question due to the fact that many families suffer very much. Before beginning the research, it is vital to see how the grieving process commences and continues, so that one may be able to better address how the research will be conducted. To do this, I have examined a true story of a family's loss. According to the narrator of this story, the tale is one of very personal loss, especially since it impacted the victim's child and her extended family. According to the story, the woman had overdosed on insulin, and the family could not recover. They state:

"We thought she had this beat. We thought she would be able to come back to us. We had planned on her going to a facility to mentally recover from her attempt at her life and to get counseling. Our family was shocked at what happened to her. My cousin, 37, had died. She left a daughter, 15. She was a nurse and a true friend. At her funeral, tons of flowers arrived, every seat filled. She had so many friends and people in her life who cared for her. Our remaining question is "Why?" There was not a single warning sign."

The next step is to answer the questions that remain. With the knowledge gained from such statements as the one from the family above the activities to be conducted during the study can begin. First and foremost, the study will begin by investigating the lives of five families in Flint, Michigan, and see how these particular individuals were affected by the events that had happened. In order to do this, the researcher must formulate at least ten questions to be tailored to a family's experience, and be very careful as to how one proceeds. Furthermore, it is important to conduct very detailed interviews and ensure that each family is treated very delicately, if this is needed.

Another activity to be conducted is studying the community of the victim's family. The community can tell one so much about the individuals, perhaps even more than the family can. Therefore, it must be at the forefront that one examines the community and the friends, workplaces and other such things. The timetable for these endeavors must range from a few months to a year, depending on whether five families will be enough, or whether more are needed.