Profiling Suicide Exposure Risk Factors for Psychological Distress: An Empirical Test of the Proposed Continuum of Survivorship Model

Abstract

The Continuum of Survivorship proposes a way in which individuals may experience the suicide death of someone known to them along a continuum from being exposed to the death through to long-term bereavement. The present study provides a first empirical testing of the proposed model in an Australian community sample exposed to suicide. Using a Latent Profile Analysis, we tested the suicide exposure risk factors (time since death, frequency of pre-death contact, reported closeness, and perceived impact) to map to the Continuum of Survivorship model. Results revealed identification of five profiles, with four ranging from suicide exposed to suicide bereaved long-term broadly aligning with the proposed model, with one further profile being identified that represented a discordant profile of low closeness and high impact of suicide exposure. Our findings demonstrate that while the proposed model is useful to better understand the psychological distress related to exposure to suicide, it cannot be used as “shorthand” for identifying those who will be most distressed, nor those who may most likely need additional support following a suicide death. Implications and future research directions are discussed.