A Qualitative Study on Adult Children's Experiences of Parental Bereavement

Abstract

This research is intended to examine adult children's experiences with parental bereavement and the effect of the experiences on family relationships and their lives. In order to describe the subjects' experiences as they are and understand their meaning and essence, data was analyzed using the Colaizzi method, an approach to phenomenology as a qualitative research methods. The findings showed that subjects suffered from the loss of parents; however, they recovered from their conditions after an ancestor worshiping service. In addition, they took heavy responsibility for a survived parent after bereavement and experienced changes in the roles of family members. In conclusion, experience with parental bereavement caused adult children to reflect on themselves, to discuss the essence of life, and to change the attitudes of their life from a future-oriented perspective to a here-and-now perspective.