Da. Brent et al., ADOLESCENT WITNESSES TO A PEER SUICIDE, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32(6), 1993, pp. 1184-1188
Objective: This case-control study attempts to evaluate the psychologi
cal impact of witnessing a suicide on high school students. Method: Tw
enty-eight high school students witnessed a firearms suicide and the s
erious injury of another student while riding a school bus. They were
assessed 2 months after the event, and their responses were compared w
ith 28 demographically similar adolescents from another community who
had not been exposed to suicide. Results: The exposed students, when c
ompared with the controls, had higher rates of new-onset anxiety disor
der and a trend for increased rates of new-onset post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD). Within the exposed group, measures of the closeness
of the relationship to both the suicide victim and the student who was
injured were correlated with the severity of PTSD symptomatology. Wit
hin the exposed group, other factors that predisposed to new-onset dis
order included family history of affective illness, family history of
suicide attempt, and stressful life events occurring in the year befor
e exposure. Conclusions: In combination with the extant literature, th
is study demonstrates that adolescents who witness a traumatic suicida
l death are at fisk for the development of psychopathology, specifical
ly, anxiety disorders and PTSD.