Grief following homicidal loss

Homicidally bereaved individuals have to deal with the notion that their loved one

is deliberately taken from them: the death is caused by the premeditated action of

another individual, most often unexpected. While the psychological consequences

for the people left behind are assumed to be great, few studies systematically

examined psychopathology following homicidal bereavement. The aim of this

dissertation was threefold. First of all, adaptation to homicidal loss was examined,

predominantly in terms of CG symptoms and PTSD symptoms (Chapter 2 and 3).

The second key aim was to look closely at revenge following homicidal loss; first

by examining the association between dispositional and situational revenge on the

one hand and CG, PTSD and positive functioning on the other hand (Chapter 4), and

second, by examining the association between negative cognitions and avoidance on

the one hand and CG, PTSD, anger and revenge on the other hand (Chapter 5). The

third point of this dissertation was to evaluate a combined treatment of EMDR and

CBT for homicidally bereaved individuals (Chapter 6). This final chapter will provide a

summary of the findings, thereby answering the research questions underlying this

study. The summary will be followed by a discussion of the main findings, along with

description of the limitations and several suggestions for future research.