dc.contributor.author
Wagner, Birgit
dc.contributor.author
Keller, Valerie
dc.contributor.author
Knaevelsrud, Christine
dc.contributor.author
Maercker, Andreas
dc.date.accessioned
2018-06-08T03:47:47Z
dc.date.available
2015-05-12T08:42:21.378Z
dc.identifier.uri
https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/15953
dc.identifier.uri
http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-20139
dc.description.abstract
Background: In Switzerland, right-to-die organizations such as Exit Deutsche
Schweiz offer suicide assistance to their members. However, there is limited
knowledge of the impact that witnessing assisted suicide has on the post-
traumatic stress severity or the grief process of family members. Low
perceived social acknowledgement may affect mental health. Methods: A cross-
sectional survey of 85 family members who were present at an assisted suicide
was conducted in December 2007. The Inventory of Complicated Grief and the
Impact of Event Scale were used to assess symptoms of post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) and complicated grief (CG) at 14 to 24 months post-loss.
Further, the Social Acknowledgement Questionnaire was used to examine the
impact that the social environment’s acknowledgement of the end-of-life
decision had on respondents’ mental health. Results: As expected, social
acknowledgement as a survivor was related to PTSD symptoms and CG. In
particular, perceived general disapproval was strongly correlated with all
outcome measures, whereas recognition was not significantly related to PTSD or
CG (intrusion and avoidance). Conclusion: Family members of patients who use
assisted suicide may hesitate to disclose the manner of death, and the
community and societal environment may express strong views concerning the
end-of-life decision. This can lead to increased levels of PTSD and CG.
de
dc.rights.uri
http://www.uk.sagepub.com/aboutus/openaccess.htm
dc.subject.ddc
100 Philosophie und Psychologie::150 Psychologie
dc.title
Social acknowledgement as a predictor of post-traumatic stress and complicated
grief after witnessing assisted suicide
dc.type
Wissenschaftlicher Artikel
dcterms.bibliographicCitation
International Journal of Social Psychiatry. - 58 (2011), 4, S. 381–385
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.doi
10.1177/0020764011400791
dcterms.bibliographicCitation.url
http://isp.sagepub.com/content/58/4/381
refubium.affiliation
Erziehungswissenschaft und Psychologie
de
refubium.mycore.fudocsId
FUDOCS_document_000000022408
refubium.resourceType.isindependentpub
no
refubium.mycore.derivateId
FUDOCS_derivate_000000004895
dcterms.accessRights.openaire
open access