Previous research has greatly ignored the unique stressors that homicide survivors experience following the murder of their loved one, indicating a general lack of understanding of the experiences and reactions they are subjected to or the coping mechanisms that they utilize. What little research that had been conducted has largely been made up of anecdotal insight of psychological practitioners who had worked with clients. A need exists to speak with the survivors themselves to chronicle their experiences in as much detail as possible to help researchers and practitioners wrap their mind around the totality of the loss as well as ground future research. The participants in the study consisted of twelve persons who had immediate family members who had been murdered. Participants were interviewed utilizing Lincoln & Guba?s Naturalistic Inquiry paradigm. They were initially interviewed and encouraged to discuss their loss in narrative and then were asked a series of specific questions that may or may not have been discussed during the narrative. The collected data was analyzed utilizing the constant comparison methodology. Results indicate that many homicide survivors feel overwhelmed by the changes that occur in the short and long term. None of the participants reported positive experiences interacting with mental health practitioners but virtually everyone endorsed peer-group support. There was also evidence that participants whose loved one was murdered by a person of an ethnicity that differed from their own resulted in racist feelings towards the other ethnicity. Further, there was no evidence that the process of interviewing homicide survivors was in and of itself negatively perceived or harmful; rather some participants reported feeling relieved that they were able to discuss their loss in totality without having to edit themselves. Results suggest that homicide survivors may spend an unusual amount of time reflecting on the person that their loved one may have become had they not been murdered. Suggestions also include how to best notify and support homicide survivors and how practitioners may best relate with their clients.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:40:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Daniela Reis e Silva.pdf: 3479822 bytes, checksum: 2bd8dd4c462da22cc01284d074772bca (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-12-11 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Suicide is a complex behavior and is considered as a public health problem. Little attention has been given to the surviving family members. The present research deals with the process of parental bereavement due to a child suicide. The process gathers two variable of potential risk for the development of complicated mourning: the loss of a child and the kind of death involving suicide. The research analyses matters related to the suicide of a child by means of a case study, which is based on a qualitative method, involving a mother who lost her son by suicide one year and three months before the study. A semi-structured interview and the construction of a genogram are used as tools. The thematic analysis reveals a singular bereavement process involving trauma and grief. It presents the son characteristics, the illness history, the suicide, the shock, the guilt, the paralysis, longing feelings, sadness, the ups and downs, the health and the resiliency among other emerging aspects, which seem to be mixed in the participant s verbalization influencing in a recurrent way the mourning process. The author draws the conclusion that religiosity, professional support, social support, art, meaning constructions, the way of sharing among other resources of confrontation can contribute positively, although in a short period of time, for a change in the future expectation. The author considers that the achieved information is only the beginning of recognition of the importance of not labeling negatively the survival family members over suicide, besides the possibility of breaking silence and prejudice involved in it so that they can receive the right support / O suicídio é um ato complexo considerado problema de saúde pública, e pouca atenção tem sido dispensada aos sobreviventes. Este trabalho trata do processo de luto de pais por suicídio de um filho por englobar duas variáveis de potencial risco para o desenvolvimento do luto complicado: a perda de um filho e a morte por suicídio. Examina o processo à luz do paradigma sistêmico. Adota uma metodologia de abordagem qualitativa, mediante um estudo de caso que envolve uma mãe enlutada há um ano e três meses. Utiliza como instrumentos uma entrevista semiestruturada e a construção do genograma familiar. A análise temática revela uma riqueza nos dados obtidos, apesar do trauma e do sofrimento envolvidos, mostrando que as características do filho, a história da doença, o suicídio, o choque, a culpa, a paralisia, a saudade, a tristeza, os altos e baixos, a saúde, a resiliência, entre outros aspectos emergentes que aparecem mesclados no discurso da participante, influenciam de maneira recursiva o processo de luto. Conclui que a religiosidade, o apoio profissional, o apoio social, a arte, a construção de significados, o compartilhar, entre outros recursos de enfrentamento, podem contribuir positivamente, mesmo em pouco tempo, para uma mudança nas expectativas para o futuro. Considera que os dados obtidos são apenas o começo do reconhecimento da importância do cuidado de não se rotular negativamente os sobreviventes ao suicídio, além da possibilidade de romper o silêncio e o preconceito que os envolvem, para que possam receber o acolhimento adequado