Patterns of Parental Bereavement following the Loss of a Child and Related Factors

Abstract

This study investigated the patterns of parental bereavement in 20 parents who have lost a child to cancer, congenital heart disease, meningitis, or drowning in the last 19 months, using semi-structured interviews and standardized questionnaires of depression and grief. Qualitative content analysis of interviews identified three bereavement patterns: The majority of parents (65%) presented uncomplicated, Integrated Grief five mothers were Consumed by Grief and one mother and one father expressed Minimal Grief. Quotes from parents exemplified these patterns. Parental gender, symptoms of depression, and pre-death relationship between parents and their deceased child differentially related to these patterns. Having surviving children, social support, and being active appeared to help to integrate grief into daily life. These findings illustrate differential patterns of parental bereavement and related factors, information that has important implications for identifying at-risk parents for complicated bereavement.

Coping with the Ultimate Deprivation: Narrative Themes in a Parental Bereavement Support Group

“…Most of the research specifically on bereaved parents has been conducted using interviews with parents (Bosticco & Thompson, 2005b;Gudmundsdottir & Chesla, 2006;Riches & Dawson, 1996;Toller, 2005Toller, , 2008, surveys (Barrera et al, 2007;Cacciatore, 2007;Kamm & Vandenberg, 2001;Keesee, Currier, & Neimeyer, 2008;Murphy, Johnson, & Lohan, 2003;Riley, LaMontagne, Hepworth, & Murphy, 2007) or analyses of websites or online forums (Hastings, Musambira, & Hoover, 2007;Musambira, Hastings, & Hoover, 2006). Only a few studies of parental bereavement support groups have been conducted.…”

Diseño y análisis psicométrico del inventario IPDP para evaluar el proceso de duelo patológico en adultos

“…De igual manera se puede entender el duelo como una lucha interior en la que se presenta vergüenza por las emociones hacia la persona fallecida, y culpabilidad acompañadas de cólera y rabia, lo que causa que el doliente disfrace o reprima las emociones y prolongue el periodo de dolor (Kübler-Ross, 1975). También se ha definido como un conjunto de emociones que se desencadenan frente a la pérdida de un ser querido, y se ha identificado que la manifestación más significativa que tiene relación con la muerte, es la respuesta emocional que incluye cambios físicos en la salud mental y emocional y en las relaciones sociales y espirituales (Barrera et al, 2007;Fonnegra, 1999;Mystakidou et al, 2008;O´Connor, 2007;Rojas, 2005).…”

The Influence of Spirituality, Race/Ethnicity and Religion on Parent Grief and Mental Health at one month and three months after their Infant's/Child's death in the Neonatal or Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

“…Within this category length of the child's illness before death was (M = 23.4 months, SD = 35.42), age of the deceased children at the time of death was (M = 7.5 years, SD = 7.5) and the parents had been bereaved for 5 to 19 months. All the bereaved parents in the Integrated Grief category reported fewer symptoms of depression and lower levels of grief which was reported as more than one standard deviation below clinical range (Barrera et al, 2007).…”

“…They also had difficulty moving on with their lives and continued to experience feelings of anger, rage or guilt, depressive symptoms and a desire to die (Bellali & Papadatou, 2006). Barrera et al (2007) conducted a mixed method study that examined the patterns of coping with grief in 20 bereaved parents (13 mothers, 7 fathers) 4-19 months after the death of their infant/child. Ages of participating mothers ranged from 29 to 56 years (M =39.4, SD = 6.48) and fathers' age ranged from 31 to 48 years (M =39.2, SD = 6.48).…”

“…Bereaved parents in this category all had surviving children which they described as giving them hope and purpose in life. One mother stated that the reason she got out of bed each day was because of her surviving child (Barrera et al, 2007).…”