The Legacy of Suicide: the State of the Art of Suicide Postvention in Wellington Secondary Schools

Abstract

A suicide involving a school community can have quite devastating physical and emotional effects on the young survivors. These can be severe and enduring. The social reaction of others may also play a role in the survivor's bereavement. Postvention deals with these traumatic after-effects for the survivors of suicide. A survey of 28 Wellington secondary schools was conducted to determine whether or not they had a postvention policy providing guidelines for the appropriate response following a suicide. Content of the policies was examined and the extent to which this constituted 'best practice' principles, as prescribed by many authors, was determined. Seventy five percent of respondents reported that they had a policy. However, due to the large variation in school practices it was very difficult to determine whether or not having a postvention policy actually made a difference. It was recommended that a policy framework of what a postvention policy should contain and a justification for its contents should be provided to all schools, while still allowing them to reflect their unique needs and cultures.