Suicide-bereaved children and adolescents: A controlled longitudinal examination

Objective: The current study examined emotional and behavioral sequelae in children who have experienced parental suicide by completing a secondary an alysis of data from the Grief Research Study a longitudinal study of childh ood bereavement. Method: Twenty-six suicide-bereaved (SB) children, aged 5 to 17 years, were compared with 332 children bereaved from parental death n ot caused by suicide (NSB) in interviews 1, 6, 13, and 25 months after the death. Children's emotional reactions to the death, psychiatric symptomatol ogy, and psychosocial functioning after the parent's death were determined. Results: Grief emotions were common in both groups. SE children were more likely to experience anxiety. anger, and shame than NSB children. SE childr en were more likely to have preexisting behavioral problems and more behavi oral and anxiety symptoms throughout the first 2 years compared with NSB ch ildren, indices of depression. suicidality, and psychosocial functioning di ffered minimally between groups. Conclusions: SE children experience some " common" elements of bereavement. In addition, they demonstrate some lifetim e risk factors as well as subsequent pathology that suggests a negative beh avioral trajectory. As these cohorts have not yet passed through the age of risk, long-term follow-up is critical.