This study investigated behavioural problems (as rated by mothers) in 38 children who had been suddenly bereaved of an infant sibling between 3 and 27 months previously. These children were compared with 40 children matched on age, gender, family…
Forty-seven mothers and 33 fathers, representing 48 families, participated in a propective longitudinal study of the effects on family members of a child's dying. The purpose of this article is to describe parents' health during the terminal illness…
Although increasing attention is being focused on the emotional aspects of caring for dying children and their families, few research reports concentrate on the experiences of mothers, particularly in different countries. This article describes the…
Bereavement care in critical care units should involve providing support and counseling for the family members prior to death, immediately after the death has occurred, and at least some follow-up in the future months. These are crucial moments: Once…
Using data from Americans' Changing Lives: Wave 1, 1986, this study examined the long-term effects on the personal functioning of older women and men following the death of an adult child or a spouse. Guided by Weiss's (1993) theoretical framework,…
The death of a loved one is a traumatic loss for children, but little attention has been paid to how children's responses vary according to who died--a parent or a sibling. This article reports the findings of a comparison between children's…
This article is a follow-up study of bereaved caregiving male partners of men with AIDS (T.A. Richards & S. Folkman, 1997). The earlier study examined spiritual beliefs, experiences, and practices reported in interviews with 125 caregivers conducted…
A core dynamic by which grief is resolved by parents in Bereaved Parents, a self-help group, is a series of transformations of the inner representation of the dead child in the parent's inner world and in the parent's social world. As the reality of…
To contribute to a better understanding of the utility of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90R; L. Derogatis, 1983) with bereaved samples, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted on SCL-90R responses of 97 parents 2 years after the death of…
It is currently believed that effective intervention programs can reduce the negative consequences of stressful life events. The purpose of this paper is to describe a three-step process used to develop a theory-based preventive intervention for…
Grounded theory analysis was used to generate an explanation of the phenomenon of meaning reconstruction in the experience of 10 bereaved mothers. The theory that emerged included three phases in the process of meaning reconstruction: discontinuity,…
Developmental changes in children's acquisition of death concepts and in their emotional reactions are reviewed. Moderating variables that may affect the nature of grieving processes after parental or sibling death are discussed, including…
This descriptive study used qualitative methods to look at two aspects of the search for meaning in parental bereavement--the search for cognitive mastery and the search for renewed purpose. One hundred and seventy-six bereaved parents answered…
A comprehensive quantitative review of published randomized controlled outcome studies of grief counseling and therapy suggests that such interventions are typically ineffective, and perhaps even deleterious, at least for persons experiences a normal…
Children grieve differently than adults. Although the unit of care in hospice is the patient and family, emphasis is often on the grown members of the family and the anticipatory grief and bereavement needs of children and adolescents are sometimes…
OBJECTIVE: This study examines the potential role for palliative care services in the care of individuals with muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy, and the support of their families., METHODOLOGY: Semistructured interviews were conducted…
For nearly a century, bereavement theorists have assumed that recovery from loss requires a period of grief work in which the ultimate goal is the severing of the attachment bond to the deceased. Reviews appearing in the 1980s noted a surprising…
Prebereavement predictors of the course of postbereavement depressive mood were examined in 110 gay men who were their partner's caregiver until the partner's death of AIDS. In all, 37 HIV+ and 73 HIV- bereaved caregiving partners were assessed…
The current study focused on a sample of adults (N = 67) experiencing bereavement following the loss of a child. The Post Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) was used to assess whether bereaved parents were able to perceive benefit from their trauma,…
Providing care to a spouse or partner who is dying and then losing that person are among the most stressful of human experiences. A longitudinal study of the caregiving partners of men with AIDS showed that in addition to intense negative…
The intensity of sibling grief and the significance of sibling mourning are described in research studies. Yet, nurses caring for dying children may be unaware of these findings and may not offer adequate support to assist siblings in working through…
The Grief Experience Inventory (GEI) and the MMPI were used to assess bereavement reactions in 102 newly bereaved individuals; 107 controls were also assessed. Intensities of bereavement reactions were compared across three types of deaths…
Examined the function of The Compassionate Friends (TCF), a self-help group for effective intervention in the severe bereavement after the death of a child, using a participant observation research method. Three decisions form the framework of the…
A retrospective study was undertaken of 25 families and their 26 ill children attending the first children's hospice in the United Kingdom. The study examined the family's perceptions of the care offered and the impact of chronic and life threatening…
An increasing body of research suggests that the death of a child results in a unique form of bereavement for surviving parents. A study reviewed research findings on parental bereavement, including those from the author's ongoing longitudinal study.…
Parents who experience the sudden death of a child will interact with many professionals in the period immediately following the death notification through to the funeral. The way these professionals respond to the parents during this critical period…
BACKGROUND: Development of a pediatric palliative care program was preceded by a needs assessment that included a staff survey and family interviews regarding improving pediatric palliative care. METHODS: Four hundred forty-six staff members and…
Preparation for their changing roles in family & society, as well as readying their intimate space for the arrival of an infant, totally engage expectant parents. Miscarriage or stillbirth may bring on a grief storm that strips away many tender roots…
The provision of bereavement support for parents who have lost a child is based on the assumption that it will lead to better subsequent adjustment. To determine the validity of this assumption, a systematic review of studies was undertaken, looking…
Viewed in an expanded frame, the phenomena of grief and bereavement call for analysis in sociological, psychological, and psychiatric terms. In this article, the authors argue that a common theme in these accounts is that of the meaning of loss as…
This paper, utilising a narrative approach, aims to describe the experiences of men whose partner had experienced pregnancy loss, based on data from Northern Ireland. The methodology was based upon observation within pregnancy loss self-help groups…
