Exploring the subjective experiences of mothers with children who have committed suicide

Abstract

Losing a child to suicide is a traumatic experience that any mother can go through. It is considered the worst stressor that may create significant changes in the mother’s life. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore and gain an in-depth understanding of the subjective experiences of mothers whose children have committed suicide. A qualitative research approach with a phenomenological research design was adopted to explore the subjective experiences of mothers with children who died by suicide. A purposeful and snowball sampling methods were employed to recruit six South African black mothers who have lost their children to suicide. A conversational method was used to collect the data. The data was analysed using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The analysed data revealed that after experiencing the loss of a child to suicide, the bereaved mothers embark on the grieving journey with no set of rules or guidelines. The journey is complex and complicated because the grieving steps may overlap. Seeking answers to make sense of the loss was a common experience due to the nature of the death. Further, suicide death is attached to stigma and shame which impacted negatively on the mother and their grieving journey. This makes the healing process difficult; however, there are numerous tools such as counselling and support which provide the mother with strength and the ability to look at life beyond the loss. It is recommended that psychologists could design educational and awareness campaigns on suicide to assist the community in understanding suicide and supporting people bereaved by a suicide death. In addition, there is a need for establishing culturally effective interventions focused on providing support to mothers bereaved by the suicide death of their children. This can be achieved through psychologists' awareness of the South African multicultural context.