Support lacking after parental suicide

Children and adolescents need professional support after a parent commits suicide, a new study confirms.

“Unfortunately, society rarely provides the help that we know is absolutely necessary,” says Ulla Forinder, professor of social work.

Losing a parent to suicide is a major trauma for the children left behind. A central question for many children and young people is, “How could my parent do this when they had me?” claims Ulla Forinder. She led a study with 40 bereaved families where one of the parents had committed suicide.

Over a third of the participating children (36%) and the participating adults (37%), and as much as two-thirds of the participating adolescents (65%), showed clear signs of post-traumatic stress. A significant majority of participants experienced mental health issues.

“When a parent dies in this way, it has an extremely large impact on children and young people. The risk is high that the children will suffer from poor health straight away as well as later in life. The likelihood of falling ill increases if they do not receive professional help,” Ulla Forinder says.

The participants in the study had all sought help from the non-profit organisation Bris, Children´s Rights in Society, which organises support weekends for bereaved families.

“Some of the families were already in contact with social services and healthcare. However, we see that the children were often forgotten both before and after the suicide, even though it is known that the suicide will affect them later on," Ulla Forinder says.

The study highlights the importance of both short-term and long-term support. Presently, there are no national guidelines on how society ought to respond in the event of a parent’s suicide. Therefore, Ulla Forinder is calling for such guidelines to be established. Today, the surviving parent, who is usually traumatised, must seek support themselves.

“There are exceptions. In Östergötland and Kalmar, police and trauma teams routinely reach out to survivors and contact child psychiatry. Other regions could follow this example. Where you live should not determine what help you receive,” Ulla Forinder says.

Often, the parent’s death becomes a taboo topic within the family, for several reasons. First, family members often try to protect one another by staying silent, hoping to shield others from the burden of difficult emotions. However, the silence and suffering are also reinforced by feelings of guilt and shame. Survivors sometimes feel guilty for failing to prevent what happened. They may also feel shame, because suicide is still associated with a strong stigma.

Survivors’ grief does not disappear regardless of support, Ulla Forinder argues, but support can significantly improve the family’s well-being and health.

“Many family members talk about the importance of doing something fun together, to laugh and enjoy life again. Professional support makes it easier for families to find their way back to that,” says Ulla Forinder.