The Phenomenon of Bereaved Parenting: An Integrative Review of Literature

Abstract

Bereaved parenting, a role that entails parenting surviving children after experiencing the death of a child, is a unique but understudied phenomenon within bereavement research. Not much is known about the impact of a child’s death on this crucial familial role. An integrative review of literature of 20 studies across psychology, nursing, communications, social work, and family sciences was undertaken to determine the current state of science regarding bereaved parenting. Results revealed three influential contexts: the general context of parental grief and bereavement, described as traumatic and life-changing experiences; the personal context of the resulting parental changes and coping strategies; and the relational context of the subsequent parenting of surviving children, an experience characterized by periodic conflict between personal and children’s needs, emotional fluctuations, challenges with levels of protectiveness and control, and a heightened sense of responsibility within the parental role. Discussion of results and implications for research are presented.

Examining the Marital Relationship After the Death of a Child

“…Grieving parents try to adjust to the trauma of losing a child and make sense of their loss, yet the experience often changes them. They find themselves in a new state emotionally, psychologically, spiritually, and physically and try to find a way to navigate their life alone and with others (Haylett & Tilley, 2018). Common coping strategies centered on emotion or religion and spirituality and either were avoided tasks or moved toward tasks (Hunt & Greeff, 2011).…”

Understanding lived experiences of bereaved parents of children with chronic life-threatening Illness : towards a culture-specific and meaning-oriented narrative E-writing intervention (NeW-I) for anticipatory grief support in Singapore

“…The past few decades have seen a remarkable decline in worldwide child and adolescent mortalitynearly 50% reduction from 1990 to 2015 (Haylett & Tilley, 2018). Yet, a staggering number of young lives continue to be lost each year due to various causes (Connor et al, 2017).…”