ABSTRACT
To a child, losing a parent to any type of death is difficult, and a loss to suicide poses additional challenges (Dalke, 1994; Elder, 1995; Pfeffer et al., 2000). It has been referred to as “the almost uniquely inexpressible tragedy, even beyond other childhood bereavements” (Cain & Fast, 1972, p. 94). Wright and Partridge (1999) go as far to say that parental suicide could be considered a form of child maltreatment. Grief after parental suicide is sensitive to a number of factors, including the surviving parent’s warmth and caregiving ability, developmental tasks, the influence of stigma, the family environment, and communication surrounding the death (Cain, 2002; Jordan, 2001; Mitchell et al., 2006; Sveen & Walby, 2008).
