Bereaved Parents' Negotiation of Identity Following the Death of a Child

2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 306-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paige W. Toller
Keyword(s):  
Negotiation Of Identity ◽  
Bereaved Parents ◽  
Death Of A Child

scholarly journals Parental Grief and Marital Issues Aftermath: A Pilot Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Nur Atikah Mohamed Hussin ◽  
Azlinda Azman
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Coping Mechanisms ◽  
Mutual Understanding ◽  
Parental Grief ◽  
Limited Knowledge ◽  
Bereaved Parents ◽  
Death Of A Child

<p>The death of a child is difficult to the bereaved parents. Literature had associated the loss with marriage disruption. The issues on that the difficulties to communicate, gender-related coping mechanisms and sexual need were discussed as reasons for bereaved parents to have conflict in their relationship. However there is limited knowledge about this issue. A pilot study has been conducted among six bereaved parents. The bereaved parents were Malaysian Muslim bereaved parents. They were interviewed individually to explore the challenges or conflicts that they had experienced after the death of their child. This study revealed that there were situations which bereaved parents described as having difficulties in their relationship. However, this study also revealed that the mutual understanding and respect to each other are the most of important components for bereaved parents to maintain their relationship post-loss. This study suggested the importance of suggesting couple counselling to bereaved parents after the death of their child.</p>

Parental Bereavement: A Panoramic View

2012 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya Hunt ◽  
Abraham P. Greeff
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Parental Bereavement ◽  
Panoramic View ◽  
Cognitive Reactions ◽  
Bereaved Parents ◽  
Death Of A Child ◽  
The Family ◽  
Grief Reactions

This study is aimed at identifying central themes of bereavement. A qualitative approach was employed in the analyses of interviews with 22 bereaved parents. The analyses yielded four central issues or themes of bereavement, each with its own set of sub-themes or categories, as the narrative demanded. The first of these themes, pertaining to the life of the family before the death of a child had taken place, was named the risk factor. Circumstances leading up to the death, surrounding the death, the cause of death, and the events following the death were coded as bereavement circumstances. The grief reactions codes were divided into categories of emotional, physical, behavioral, relational, spiritual, and cognitive reactions, as described by the participants. Finally, the mourning codes described the mechanisms employed by the participants in their attempts to survive and continue living after the death. These findings can be used in the training of support workers and the development of bereavement interventions.

Life after the Death of a Child: Initial and Long Term Support from Others

1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Brabant ◽  
Craig Forsyth ◽  
Glenda McFarlain
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Symbolic Interactionist ◽  
Child Deaths ◽  
Bereaved Parents ◽  
Death Of A Child ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interactionist Perspective ◽  
Point Of Departure

This article presents research on both the source and continuity of support received by bereaved parent(s) within four different social contexts: family, friends, co-workers, and clergy. The data were obtained from a study conducted in 1990–91 on the social impact of the death of a child, and are drawn from fourteen interviews with bereaved parents representing nine families and ten child deaths. The responses to three questions are considered. First, how were you treated by family members and close friends? What were their expectations? Second, how were you treated by your boss and co-workers when you returned to work? What were their expectations? And, finally, how did your clergy treat you? Using the work of Therese Rando and William Worden as point of departure, social support or lack thereof for the bereaved parent is reexamined from a symbolic interactionist perspective. Implications for grief counseling are discussed.

scholarly journals Facing Loss and Finding Hope in Narrating Together: Accounts of Parenthood Following the Death of a Child to Muscular Dystrophy

2021 ◽  
pp. 105413732110137
Author(s):  
James Randall ◽  
Lizette Nolte ◽  
David Wellsted
Keyword(s):  
Muscular Dystrophy ◽  
Narrative Inquiry ◽  
Muscle Wasting ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Narrative Interviews ◽  
Potential Value ◽  
Collaborative Processes ◽  
Bereaved Parents ◽  
Death Of A Child ◽  
Waking Up

Muscular dystrophy is a terminal muscle-wasting condition, whereby families face continuous challenges as their child’s health deteriorates. This research explored accounts of parenthood following bereavement of their child to muscular dystrophy. Narrative inquiry was used to analyse interviews with four couples. Findings suggest an importance in narrating adversities ( waking up to different futures) and positive influence ( creating legacies). The research highlighted how humour is often used to support others to witness painful accounts ( humour through the struggle). Parents appeared to co-regulate the painfulness of narrating loss ( storytelling together). Further research is needed on conjoint narrative interviews and how these may enable participants to address shared loss experiences. Practitioners who support bereaved parents could consider the potential value highlighted in this study of meeting with parents conjointly, which include that, through co-regulatory, collaborative processes, families seemed to be supported to reach narrative cohesion, sensitively and safely, when facing loss and bereavement.

scholarly journals Metaphors that shape parents' perceptions of effective communication with healthcare practitioners following child death: a qualitative UK study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Turner ◽  
Jeannette Littlemore ◽  
Anne Topping ◽  
Eloise Parr ◽  
Julie Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Video Conferencing ◽  
Child Death ◽  
Physical Nature ◽  
Successful Communication ◽  
Bereaved Parents ◽  
Death Of A Child ◽  
Effective Care ◽  
Physical Response ◽  
Linguistic Analyses ◽  
Parents Experiences

Objectives To offer an interpretation of bereaved parents' evaluations of communication with healthcare practitioners surrounding the death of a child. Design Interpretative qualitative study employing thematic and linguistic analyses of metaphor embedded in interview data. Setting England and Scotland. Participants 24 bereaved parents (21 women, 3 men) Methods Participants were recruited through the True Colours Trust website and mailing list, similar UK charities, and word of mouth. Following interviews in person or via video-conferencing platforms (Skype/Zoom), transcripts first underwent thematic and subsequently linguistic analyses supported by Nvivo. A focused analysis of metaphors used by the parents was undertaken allow in-depth interpretation of how they conceptualised their experiences. Results The findings illuminate the ways parents experienced communication with healthcare practitioners surrounding the death of a child. They show how their evaluations of effective care relate to the experience of the bereavement itself, as expressed through metaphor. We identified three broad themes: (1) Identity (2) Emotional and Physical Response(s) and (3) Time. Successful communication from healthcare practitioners takes account of parents' experiences related to these themes. Conclusions This study suggests that healthcare practitioners when communicating with bereaved parents need to recognise, and seek to comprehend, the ways in which the loss impacts upon an individual's identity as a parent, the 'physical' nature of the emotions that can be unleashed, and the ways in which the death of a child can alter their metaphorical conceptions of time.

Death of a Child and the Risk of Stroke: A Binational Cohort Study From Denmark and Sweden

Neurology ◽  
2022 ◽  
pp. 10.1212/WNL.0000000000013263
Author(s):  
Dang Wei ◽  
Jiong Li ◽  
Hua Chen ◽  
Fang Fang ◽  
Imre Janszky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Hemorrhagic Stroke ◽  
Child Death ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Bereaved Parents ◽  
Death Of A Child ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Deceased Child ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Child's Death

Background and Objectives:The death of a child is an extreme life event with potentially long-term health consequences. Accumulating evidence suggests that parents who lost a child have increased risks of cardiovascular diseases, including ischemic heart disease and atrial fibrillation. Whether bereaved parents have an increased risk of stroke is unclear and was investigated in this study.Methods:We conducted a population-based cohort study including parents who had a child born during 1973-2016 or 1973-2014 and recorded in the Danish and the Swedish Medical Birth Registers, respectively. We obtained information on child’s death, parent’s stroke and socioeconomic and health-related characteristics through linkage between several population-based registers. We used Poisson regression to examine the association between the death of a child and the risk of stroke.Results:Of the 6,711,955 study participants, 128,744 (1.9%) experienced the death of a child and 141,840 (2.1%) had a stroke during the follow-up. Bereaved parents had an increased risk of stroke; the corresponding incidence rate ratio (95% confidence intervals) was 1.23 (1.19-1.27). The association was present for all analyzed categories of causes of child death (cardiovascular, other natural and unnatural death), did not differ substantially according to the age of the deceased child, but was stronger if the parent had no or ≥3 than 1-2 live children at the time of the loss. The association was similar for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. The risk for hemorrhagic stroke was highest immediately after the death of a child and decreased afterwards. In contrast, there was no clear pattern over time in case of ischemic stroke.Discussion:The death of a child was associated with a modestly increased risk of stroke. The finding that an association was observed in case of unnatural deaths is suggestive of the explanation that bereavement-related stress may contribute to the development of stroke. Though the death of a child can often not be avoided, an understanding of its health-related consequences may highlight the need for improved support and attention from family members and healthcare professionals.

scholarly journals A Comparison of Continuing Bonds Over Time in Bereaved Parents and Siblings After the Death of a Child (S779)

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 451
Author(s):  
Terrah Foster Akard ◽  
Mary Dietrich ◽  
Marissa Baudino ◽  
Arianna Stone
Keyword(s):  
Continuing Bonds ◽  
Bereaved Parents ◽  
Death Of A Child ◽  
Over Time
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