A Child's Death and Divorce: Dispelling the Myth

Couple’s Relationship After the Death of a Child: A Systematic Review

“…The author concluded that divorce rates among bereaved parents were not higher than those in the general population or for parents facing similar stressors. Schwab (1998) reported similar results and took this matter further by stating that the well-known claim that there is an unusually high rate of divorce among bereaved parents is a myth. In fact, according to these authors, it seems that couples' relationships can not only survive the loss, but also be enhanced by this shared ordeal.…”

“…A former literature review on the theme (Schwab, 1998) advocated for the dispelling of the myth that the death of a child precipitates a severe marital crisis and/or divorce. In light of the empirical evidence provided by large-scale quantitative studies, we can conclude that the death of a child can in fact lead to marital distress and divorce, and therefore, must be regarded as a serious risk factor for marital dissolution.…”

“…As previously stated, in addition to challenging some of the results reported in the literature reviews of Oliver (1999) and Schwab (1998), this systematic review also thrived by addressing the multidirectional relationship between grief (and individual adjustment) and the marital relationship, considering both what influences and what is influenced by the marital relationship. Finally, besides including useful implications for therapy, to the best of our knowledge, this work was the first attempt to systematically assess and summarize the methodological aspects of recent studies in this area.…”

“…Given that most marriages remain intact after the death of a child (Schwab, 1998), the ability to maintain marital quality over time may be a key to well-being for most parents. However, there has been relatively little research on parental bereavement that has specifically examined the role of marital relationship in recovery from grief.…”

“…In addition to these methodological considerations, Schwab (1998) stated that future studies should aim to controlvariables such as parents' life cycle stages, the type and circumstances of the death, the quality of the marital relationship prior to the offspring's death, and concurrent stressors to obtain a more accurate picture of marital discord and dissolution following the death of a child. Studies in the last 14 years have attempted to manage some of these limitations, but also to use more sophisticated methods of analysis.…”