Child Off-Script: A Qualitative Study on Childhood Bereavement (original) (raw)
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International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022
Background: It is estimated that approximately 41,000 children and young people experience the death of a parent each year. Grief responses, such as anxiety and depression, can follow. This research investigated the adult reflections of experiencing parental death as a young person. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with adults (N = 14; female n = 8) who experienced parental death as a young person, which occurred over 5 years ago (time since death, M = 12.9 years; age at death, M = 16.4 years; age at interview, M = 30.9 years). The data were analysed inductively using thematic analysis. Results: Seven themes revealed that parental bereavement can lead to (1) “Distance and isolation” and is an (2) “Emotional journey” with (3) a “Physical impact”. Many experienced (4) “Post-traumatic growth” but acknowledged that (5) “Life will never be the same”, highlighting the importance of (6) “Support and understanding” and triggers for (7) “Re-grief”. Conclusions: Parental ber...
Childhood Bereavement: A Qualitative Study
2007
The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the long-term effects of bereavement on adults who experienced the death of a parent during childhood. By using a qualitative approach, this study is designed to gather information on each participant's unique understanding of how bereavement has impacted his or her life. This information is then used to identify general themes in
2021
Bereavement and mourning are arguably one of the research interests of psychologists, psychoanalysts, and psychiatrists since Freud's publication of Mourning and Melancholia. This paper is a qualitative case study that sought to examine the mourning experience of the participant from childhood until his adolescence. For theoretical foundation, the four tasks of mourning primarily developed by James Worden was utilized for the proper direction of the research inquiry; namely: a.) accepting the reality of death; b.) experiencing the feeling of grief; c.) adjusting and creating new meanings in the post-loss world; and d.) reconfiguring the bond with the lost person. The paper finds that the participant's cognitive attitude, emotional experiences, and personal observations of the environment enable him to overcome actively (in an overlapping manner) the three tasks of mourning. However, the failure to find an enduring connection with his deceased parents is not a result of stron...
Understanding and Responding to Parental Bereavement
2002
16 When I was young, my mother would often sing a lullaby with the refrain, “When the bough breaks/The cradle will fall/And down will come baby/Cradle and all.” Like most children, I never considered what might actually happen “when the bough breaks” in real life. This changed for me, though, when, as a college undergraduate, I found myself with my parents one night on a lonely country road. There I began trying to comprehend the loss of my older brother, who had just been killed in a car accident. The circumstances required me not only to cope with my own sense of grief but also to understand and respond to the intense trauma my mother and father were experiencing. Since that night, I have considered both personally and professionally how parents respond when a child dies. Given both the complexity and gravity of that response, my hope is that this article will help family members, friends, and professionals better understand how the loss of a child affects parents and how to provi...
Call of Duty: The Emotional and Psychosocial Lived Experience of Eldest Child towards Parental Death
ARC Journal of Nursing and Healthcare
Aim: Death is a natural part of life; not only does this imply the inevitability that people will pass away, but also the emotional compromise of the bereaved. Numerous literatures have shown the intense grief and devastation of the parents upon losing their child, however, availability of literatures regarding lived experiences by the eldest child who experienced parental death is limited. This gap in knowledge led us to conduct this phenomenological study that will unravel the essence behind the experiences of the eldest child who experienced parental death. Methods: A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted involving a total of 5 handpicked participants. A semi-structured interview was done, recorded and transcribed verbatim including non-verbal cues and clues. Following Colaizzi's method, we extracted participant's significant statements and organized the formalized meanings into clusters of themes. Results: The phenomenon "Call of Duty" was materialized in this study which describes the eldest child's experiences of parental death. Three emerge themes were identified that clearly explains the eldest child's experience towards the demise of their parent. First, protected by the safe haven characterized the participants' reliance to their parent before the death occurs. Second, skirmished with parental loss highlighted their painful experiences of death and grieving. Lastly, armored to face the future captured the participants' struggle after the loss; positivism dominated amidst difficulties. Conclusions: The essence of the eldest child's responses reflected the phenomenon "Call of Duty", captured on a military theme that described their lived experiences towards parental death. The participants' experiences of parental death had led them to the development of emotional and psychosocial maturity.
Exploring Parental Grief: Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Measures
Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 2005
Purpose. This study explores parental grief on the death of a child of any age. Study design. The sampling frame for the study consisted of 74 respondents reporting that they experienced the death of a living child. With the exception of standard demographic measures, the quantitative and qualitative items in the instrument were designed specifically for this project. The content validity of the instrument was assessed by a panel of experts on grief. Key quantitative items related to child loss and grief were formatted with between three-and five-point ordinal answer categories. Two types of qualitative items were developed by the authors. The reliability of the instrument designed for this study was not determined. Results. This survey of parents who experienced the death of a child during their lifetime explores and extends current understanding of the complex emotional response of grief. The study offers empirical support for the notion of grief as ongoing in the life of a parent whose child had died. The findings have significant implications for further clinical research supporting studies to explore commonalities in the experience of grieving families regardless of the cause of and time since the death of their child. In addition, the findings may serve to inform the development and provision of services for bereaved parents.
Living Through the Life-Altering Loss of a Child: A Narrative Review
Issues in comprehensive pediatric nursing, 2015
The death of a child is a life-altering event for parents, leading to grief that is individual, intense, and long lasting. The grief experienced by parents following the death of their child can affect their relationships and as they sometimes see it, their role within society. Parents can find grief isolating, due to society's lack of understanding of their grief experience. Gendered differences in grief reactions have also been noted. Theoretical understandings of bereavement, now acknowledge parental need "not to let go" but rather to reconstruct relationships with their deceased child in terms of a continuing bond. This narrative literature review draws together theory and research on the topic, highlighting current knowledge and suggesting ways in which children's nurses can support parents as they live through the loss of their child.
The Normalcy of Parental Bereavement: Re-Thinking Complicated Mourning
2001
The death of a child is a traumatic event for parents. Parental bereavement is a normal reactive process to an abnormal event. The duration of grief is lifelong with varying intensity. It requires readjustment to a new reality. This process of readjustment is considered from both the bereaved parent's and from the outside observer's perspectives. Readjustment entails a constant interpretation of the grief experienced. It involves changes in perception of self and changes in the relationships with the living family. Readjustment also occurs through the grief that is expressed in emotions, behaviors, coping strategies, and influences on health. ,The process moves from the attachment to the deceased child to an emergence of a new self/identity and may continue to progress to the discovery of new meaning in life. Counselors can help parents with the process of reconnecting them to life and assist them in functioning in a productive and nondestructive manner. (Author/JDM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.