Writing projects: lessening undergraduates' unique suicidal bereavement.
To assess if writing projects lessen undergraduates' grief following a loved one's suicide, 40 students whose loved one died by suicide in the past 2 years wrote on four occasions over 2 weeks about profound topics (e.g., events and emotions surrounding the death) or trivial topics (e.g., description of the previous meal). All participants completed pre- and posttest measures of grief and self-reported health visits, and 75% completed the same measures at 6-week mailed follow-up. As expected, individuals in the profound condition reported less grief associated with suicide at follow-up than those in the trivial condition. However, the trivial and profound groups were not significantly different in general grief or health visits. Writing about grief associated with the suicide of a loved one appeared to reduce suicidal grief associated with this event. However, this benefit did not extend to general grief or physical health.
Duke Scholars
Published In
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Verbal Behavior
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- Suicide
- Students
- Social Support
- Psychiatry
- Middle Aged
- Male
- Humans
- Follow-Up Studies
Citation
Published In
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Verbal Behavior
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- Suicide
- Students
- Social Support
- Psychiatry
- Middle Aged
- Male
- Humans
- Follow-Up Studies