Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of the study was to determine that if in high schools where a suicide event has occurred, the stage theory developed by Kubler-Ross had usefulness as an organizing structure for postvention activities. Methodology. The sample for this study consisted of a national panel of twenty-one experts with knowledge and experience in suicide prevention, postvention, grief, and loss issues from education and social service communities. The Delphi method using a three-round survey process was employed to collect data about four research questions. The study was descriptive in nature and employed a limited number of statistical and analytical procedures. A list of postvention strategies was generated in round one. Based on the survey results of rounds two and three, the data were ranked by overall mean ratings of the experts. Findings. A list of forty-three postvention strategies with 105 occurrences where grief stages were related was generated. Twenty-six strategies achieved high agreement by the panel, i.e., they received an overall rating of 80 percent or better indicating that they should be employed in a high school following a suicide. Six strategies reached agreement-60 percent or better. Eleven strategies received ratings lower than 60 percent and failed the agreement criteria. Of the 105 instances where grief stages were suggested as related to strategies, thirty-two were rated non-related. Seventy-three stages achieved agreement, with eleven reaching high-agreement. Conclusions. The study data support the conclusions that postvention strategies rated most important were general in nature and targeted a broad range of the grief stages and that the Kubler-Ross stages would be little use as an organizing structure. Recommendations. Further research is advised: Conduct a study to identify postvention strategies for other grade level schools. Conduct a study to examine the traumatic effects of school violence in high schools. Also, it is recommended that the study be modified to research the use of a task-based model of grief instead of the Kubler-Ross stages.