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There is a scarcity of information available with respect to postbereavement outcomes for survivors of the suicide of a loved one. Few studies have focused on postvention therapies for the bereaved, particularly the bereaved survivors of suicide. The major aim of this study as to compare the effects of two theoretically derived nursing postventions, Bereavement Group Postvention (BGP) and Social Group Postvention (SGP), among the widowed whose spouses died of suicide. The findings suggest that both groups experienced an overall reduction in depression and distress. Although participants in the SGP generally showed significant improvement in social adjustment, they tended to be less well adjusted with respect to their parental roles at the end of the 8-week postvention sessions. Comparison of the psychoemotional correlates of grief varied such that there were no significant differences between the postvention groups for social isolation, loss of control, somatization, or death anxiety. The BGP participants experienced significantly reduced levels of anger/hostility and guilt; however, feelings of anger/hostility actually increased for those receiving the SGP. There was a significant reduction in feelings of despair, rumination, and depersonalization for both groups. Although social isolation was not significantly reduced for participants in either group, those receiving the BGP tended to experience a reduction in social isolation and those receiving the SGP showed no changes.

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This qualitative descriptive study explored the experience of social support as perceived by four Roman Catholic priests who are community caregivers subject to role-related stressors and who have vocational limitations placed on their social support networks. The data collection process consisted of two semistructured interviews employing open-ended questions. Content and concept analysis techniques yielded seven core themes (person-role disharmony, intimate connections, network leveling, moving networks, caregiver survival, vocation-person esteem, caring relationships), three prevailing themes (subsistent relationships, person-priest being, reciprocal fulfillment), and one contextual theme (presence). The priests actively sought support as a means of coping with the daily stress associated with their caregiving roles. Large and diffuse networks were unable to compensate for restrictions resulting from vows of celibacy, discord accompanying midlife transition, or conflicts associated with socially prescribed role expectations of the priesthood. The instability of their support networks resulting from mandatory transfers may have been a contributing factor. Existential presence, an enduring theme, was identified as an inherent quality of caregiving and social support.

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BACKGROUND: Serum lipid levels vary widely within individuals, but the causes of these fluctuations are poorly understood. One area of research concerns elevations in cholesterol concentration in response to emotional stress. In a laboratory-based experiment, we compared the effects of acute mental stress and postural change (standing) on serum cholesterol concentration. In addition, plasma volume was indirectly monitored to determine whether cholesterol changes with mental stress, if present, were a function of hemoconcentration. METHODS: Twenty-six men attended two laboratory sessions, each consisting of baseline (30 minutes), task (20 minutes), and recovery (30 minutes) periods. Subjects rested in the supine position during the baseline and recovery periods. During the task period of one session, subjects performed a mental task (Stroop test and mental arithmetic); during the other session, the subjects stood for the task period. RESULTS: Both mental stress and standing elicited significant elevations in heart rate, blood pressure, and plasma catecholamine concentrations, relative to the baseline and recovery periods. Both the mental and orthostatic tasks also significantly increased serum cholesterol concentration (by 0.10 and 0.57 mmol/L [3.7 and 21.9 mg/dL], respectively), as well as hemoglobin level and hematocrit. Cholesterol elevations with standing were reversible, while those resulting from mental stress persisted through the recovery period. When values were corrected for concomitant hemoconcentration, no net change in serum cholesterol level occurred during either task. CONCLUSIONS: Acute mental stress can produce rapid elevations in serum cholesterol concentration. It can also increase hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit (ie, reduce plasma volume). Therefore, increases in serum cholesterol level after acute mental stress are analogous to those with standing and may reflect hemoconcentration rather than altered lipoprotein metabolism.

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