Is it possible to adapt to the suicide of a close individual? Results of a10-year prospective follow-up study

We conducted a prospective ten-year follow-up study on the consequences of a suicide among relatives or other individuals close to the suicide victim. Baseline interviews (n = 104) were carried out during the National Suicide Prevention Project in Finland from 1987 to 1988. Semi-structured follow-up interviews including the 12-item General Health Questionnaire and the 21-i tem Beck Depression Inventory were carried out ten years later (n = 64, 64% of those still alive). Mental symptoms were reported to have been common a fter suicide but they had subsided during three years. Mental symptoms had been common especially among children after their parent's suicide. At base line mothers had had depressive symptoms more often than others, but at fol low-up there was no statistical difference. Life changes associated with th e suicide were common, and they could be unfavourable as well as favourable . At the time of the follow-up study, half of the interviewees felt that ba seline interviews had helped them to adjust to the suicide.