Social support after the loss of an infant child: A long‐term perspective

Abstract

The article presents findings from a survey among 251 parents whose infant child had died. For most of the parents, the loss occurred several years ago. The survey assessed the amounts of instrumental, emotional and informational support received by these parents from various sources in connection with the death. The findings revealed that different sources provided different kinds of support. There was only one significant difference between bereaved males and females with regard to amount of support: females received more emotional support from their friends than males did. Furthermore, large amounts of support received by one spouse was associated with a similar level of support received by the other spouse. Social support in connection with the death was to some extent related to long-term psychological adaptation. Particularly support from neighbours and professionals was consistently associated with psychological adaptation. In general, however, the findings with regard to long-term effects of social support were ambiguous.

Perceptions of Inadequate Health Care and Feelings of Guilt in Parents after the Death of a Child to a Malignancy: A Population-Based Long-Term Follow-Up

“…Accounts and narratives suggest that emotional, informational, and economic support is important for parental coping and psychological adjustment during or after their child's death. 4,9 Support received from the health care providers may affect the development of guilt, because maintenance of parents' own psychological well-being may allow them to attend more effectively to their children's needs. Parents who lack support may have difficulty in coping and may later feel guilty about how they handled the child's illness.…”

“…3,4 Feelings of guilt are a common response to the death of a loved one, 1,5 which associated with self-blame 6 are thought to hinder psychological recovery and to be associated with poorer long-term adjustment. 7 We do not know which factors predict parental guilt after the death of a child from a malignancy.…”

Finding Support in a Field of Devastation: Bereaved Parents' Narratives of Communication and Recovery

“…Supportive social contact outside the immediate family has been noted as a key element in helping bereaved parents overcome the difficulties of adjustment and coping with the loss of their child (Riches & Dawson, 2000). Numerous researchers have stressed the importance of social support in reducing grief symptoms and facilitating psychological adaptation (Dunne, McIntosh, & Dunne-Maxim, 1987;Reed, 1998;Sherkat & Reed, 1992;Thuen, 1997aThuen, , 1997b. While this support has been found to be effective in healing from loss, many bereaved parents feel that the social support they actually do receive is inadequate and offered only over a limited period of time (DeVries, Lana, & Falck, 1994;.…”

Development and implementation of a bereavement follow‐up intervention for grieving fathers: an action research

“…2005), affect (Stewart 1995, Dent et al. 1996, Thuen 1997, Worth 1997, Malacrida 1999, Samuelsson et al. 2001, Wood & Milo 2001, Contro et al.…”