Examining the effects of variables related to post-traumatic growth in whose intimates committed suicide

Suicide has become an important public health problem recently, and by its nature, it affects not only the person who committed suicide, but also the intimates around the person. There are studies in the literature showing that suicide survivors struggle with negative psychological problems after suicide. However, recently, the number of studies showing that such traumatic experiences do not only have negative effects on people, but also that people can experience a positive change called post-traumatic development, has increased. In this study, the role of socio-demographic information of both the participant and the intimate who committed suicide, characteristics related to the suicide event, the level of impact of the event, and perceived social support in predicting post-traumatic development were studied. A total of 83 adults participated in the research, including 41 people whose intimates lost their lives as a result of a suicide attempt and 42 people who did not. A demographic information form consisting of questions about the demographic characteristics of themselves and their relatives and their relatives' suicide attempts and 3 self-report scales (The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, The Impacts of Events Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support) were applied to the participants. When the findings were examined, it was seen that there was a significant and negative relationship between the age of the relative who attempted suicide at the time of the event and post-traumatic growth (r=-.264, p<0.05). Additionally, it was determined that there was a significant relationship between receiving psychological support in the past and post-traumatic growth (t(81)=-2.410, p<0.05). Also, a significant and positive relationship was found between the the impact level of the event and post-traumatic growth (r=.227, p<0.05). Finally, it was observed that there was a positive and significant relationship between the social support perceived by the participants and post-traumatic growth (r=.291, p<0.05). As a result, it has been observed that the relative's age at the time of the event, the person's receiving psychological support in the past, the level of impact of the event on the person, and the person's level of perception of social support affect post-traumatic development. The findings were discussed in the context of the literature, the limitations of the study were stated, and suggestions for future research were presented.