The stigma perceived by people bereaved by suicide and other sudden deaths: A cross-sectional UK study of 3432 bereaved adults

To test the hypothesis that perceived stigma scores in young adults bereaved by suicide are significantly higher than in young adults bereaved by other sudden deaths, whether blood-related to the deceased or not. We conducted a cross-sectional study of all staff and students aged 18–40 at 37 UK higher educational institutions in 2010, and identified 3432 respondents who had experienced a sudden bereavement of a close contact since reaching the age of 10, either due to sudden natural causes, sudden unnatural causes, or suicide. We used multivariable regression to compare scores on the stigma, shame, responsibility and guilt subscales of the Grief Experience Questionnaire, adjusting for socio-demographic factors and pre-bereavement psychopathology. People bereaved by suicide (n=614) had higher stigma scores than people bereaved by sudden natural death (n=2106; adjusted coefficient=2.52; 95% CI=2.13–2.90; p=