What is spirituality for women bereaved by a partner’s suicide: A qualitative study

Abstract

Spirituality is often significant for those undergoing suicide bereavement. Our study aimed to explore how women, who are bereaved by their partner’s suicide, describe spirituality. 11 semi-structured interviews have been conducted with female participants using reflexive thematic analysis. Six themes were identified: Spirituality as a resource, Spirituality as a relationship; Spirituality is universal; Spirituality is a changing phenomenon; Spirituality requires effort; Spirituality is between knowing, sensation, and feeling. Female participants who experience bereavement following a partner’s suicide described their understanding of spirituality as a multidimensional phenomenon. Interpretations and practical guidelines are formed.

Keywords:

• spirituality
• suicide bereavement
• qualitative research
• thematic analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability Statement

The participants of this study did not give written consent for their data to be shared publicly, so due to the sensitive nature of the research supporting data is not available.

Ethical approval

The Psychology Research Ethics Committee of Vilnius University approved the wider project, of which the current study is a part of (2021-01-22, Number 56).

Informed consent from the participants

All the participants signed the informed consent.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no direct funding for this research.