Reactions of survivors of suicide victims to interviews

Abstract

Fifty-eight consecutive suicides committed between 1984 and 1987 by adolescents and young adults (age 15-29 years) in an urban community were the subject of retrospective investigations by means of interviews with survivors. The outcome of the survivors’ crisis reactions and the interviewees’ capacity to participate in the interviews were evaluated. Two weeks after a main interview, a follow-up interview dealing with the interviewee's reactions to the investigation was performed. The cautious interview procedure seemed very acceptable to the survivors. An initial contact about 2 months after the suicide is recommended. Tape-recording was generally tolerated. There was a relationship between a satisfactory outcome of the crisis and good quality of the information given by the interviewee, but survivors in severe crisis may also cooperate well and give information with good trustworthiness and precision. An unsatisfactory crisis outcome was significantly more common in interview subjects with post-traumatic stress disorder according to DSM-III-R. Many interviewees benefit from the single interview.