Citation

Bourdet-Loubère S. Enfances et Psy 2006; 31(2): 83-93.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006)

DOI

10.3917/ep.031.0083

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Teenagers are complicated persons, whose identity, still under completion, is fragile. The youngsters' circle, family, relatives, and above all "friends" are part of this nascent identity. This is the reason why, the death of a mate, of a friend during the teenage years will create an anxiety, particularly important to the adolescent: anxiety about the loss in itself, about the impression of being abandoned, about feeling guilty to be still alive while the other is dead and ultimately, the anxiety about the awareness of his own death. The difficulties to face this anxiety and the ability to go into mourning about this loss, will rely upon several factors such as the circumstances of the death (which, in case of a suicide, can be dramatic when compared to its main reason) but also the nature and the quality of the relationship when suicide was committed as well as the type of support the close relatives will be able to bring to the adolescent. Although, the sudden loss of a friend deeply distresses the one who remains, who will then risk to feel distraught and to show excessive emotions which need to be understood and controlled. The point at this stage, for the adolescence professional is to find the right balance between an excessive dramatization and a trite attitude that could lead to a lack of subjectivity, in other word the proper attitude to help the adolescent to overcome this crisis.

Language: fr

Keywords

Suicide; Teenagers; Friend; Mourn