“Why did he choose to die?”: A meaning-searching approach to parental suicide bereavement in youth

Abstract

This article analyzes from a narrative perspective how young people talk about their experience of parental suicide in different social contexts. The results show how these young grievers are preoccupied with the question of Why the parent committed suicide. Moreover, they tend primarily to interpret the suicide in line with stigmatizing discourses regarding Who is to blame, which has negative impacts on their identities. In contrast, a “meaning-searching approach” seeks to answer the question of What caused the suicide and to identify a combination of internal vulnerabilities and external stressors. Professional interventions are recommended to foster the latter health promoting coping strategy.