Embitterment in suicide and homicide-suicide

Linden (2003) has posited that a salient, negative life event can lead to the development of posttraumatic embitterment disorder (PTED), conceptualized as an adjustment disorder marked by the prolonged experience of strong emotions marked by bitterness and related feelings in an individual who had otherwise been functioning normally and prior had minimal or no diagnosable psychopathology. This novel framework warrants further study. There is a wealth of data to support that select personality traits, for example negative affectivity, provides a diathesis for the development of a wide range of mental disorders (Widiger and Trull 1992). Therefore, we hypothesize that individuals who develop PTED have, at a minimum, a diathesis or trait disposition to experience embitterment even if there are no diagnosable psychiatric conditions per se. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Vienna.