Family members who cannot find meaning in their loss suffer greater levels of distress. This stress may take the form of physiological alertness, anxiety, panic attacks, headaches, somatic complaints, sleep disturbances, and difficulty concentrating (Miller, 2009). Survivors often exhibit prolonged feelings of guilt and anger. Family members regularly blame themselves for the death of the victim, creating pseudo-explanations in order to give meaning to this unexplainable trauma (Miller, 2009). Self-directed anger enables the survivor to exert some control over the situation, however, oftentimes this anger is directed outwardly at the police, the justice system, and society in general (Miller, 2009).
External factors also play a significant role in the life of the survivor. Since a murder is considered a violation against the state, victim's families can be left feeling as if the needs of the justice system take priority over the needs of the family and can leave them feeling ignored (Armour, 2002). They become bystanders in their own situation and can experience feelings of loss of control. Further, interactions with the justice system appear to elicit stress reactions and negatively impact the survivor's well-being (Miranda, Molina, & MacVane, 2003). It is important to recognize the role that the justice system and social environment play in influencing the post-homicide experience of the survivor (Armour, 2002).
Isolation by family members who struggle with their own experience of the homicide further impacts the struggle that the survivors face (Horne, 2003). They often do not understand the grieving process and, therefore, do not lend adequate support to the survivor who continues to grieve for an extended period of time. It is difficult for the survivor to understand how others can go on with their daily activities when their own life appears to have come to a screeching halt (Miranda, Molina, & MacVane, 2003). Survivors can be so consumed by their emotional and physical pain that they have no energy left for anything else...
Families experience blame from others for the manner in which the victim died, the victim's life choices, and struggle with a loss of control over their loved one when the media's portrayal distorts who the victim had been (Armour, 2002). This loss of their social status in the community only confounds their grief and feelings of helplessness.
Family members of murder victims contend with many factors; they deal with their emotional loss, the stigma associated with the murder and the re-victimization of interactions with external agencies (Armour, 2002). The murder often brings to question the mortality and vulnerability of the survivor, leaving them to question their own safety in their home and community (Miller, 2008). This murder, in essence, not only devastates the survivor emotionally, it also creates a sense of loss over the person they were (Miller, 2008). Survivors of the homicide of a family member have a new sense of the dangers that exist in the world, and these ideas transition from being abstract concepts to ones that impact their every waking moment.
References
Armour, M. (2002). Journey of family members of homicide victims: A qualitative study of their posthomicide experience. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72(3), 372-382.
Horne, C. (2003). Families of homicide victims: Service utilization patterns of extra- and intrafamilial homicide survivors. Journal of Family Violence, 18(2), 75-82.
Miller, L. (2009). Family survivors on homicide: II. Practical therapeutic strategies. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 37(2), 85-98.
Miller, L. (2008). Death notification for families of homicide victims: Healing dimensions of a complex process. Omega, 57(4), 367-380.
Miranda, a.O., Molina, C., & MacVane, S.L. (2003).…
