Grieving the Loss of a Child and the Use of Online Social Support: An Exploratory Survey Study

Title

Grieving the Loss of a Child and the Use of Online Social Support: An Exploratory Survey Study

Creator

Clarkson G; Sheikh NS; Johnson LA

Publisher

Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services

Date

2024

Subject

Grief; Social Media; Social Support; Adult; Anxiety/psychology; Child; Depression/psychology; Female; Humans; Internet; Male; Self Efficacy; Surveys and Questionnaires

Description

PURPOSE: To describe social media online grief supports, accessing behaviors, psychosocial variables, and feelings of support among individuals grieving the loss of a child aged <18 years. METHOD: This online survey study recruited 26 adults grieving the loss of a child using social media. Dependent variables included feelings of support and frequency of access. Independent variables included sleep disturbance, cognitive function, depression, anxiety, and self-efficacy to manage emotions (SEMA). Data were collected from May to September 2018. RESULTS: Participants' T scores were higher in level of sleep disturbance (mean = 59.4, SD = 6.1), depression (mean = 62.1, SD = 6.1), and anxiety (mean = 62.8, SD = 7.9), and lower in cognitive function (mean = 37.4, SD = 7.3) and SEMA (mean = 39.3, SD = 5.7). SEMA showed a positive correlation with feeling emotionally supported (p = 0.034). Participants who were accessing online grief supports more frequently reported higher levels of emotional support (F = 9.31, p = 0.006). CONCLUSION: Current findings will help guide the design of online grief support interventions for individuals grieving the loss of a child. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 62(8), 47-55.].

Rights

Article information provided for research and reference use only. PedPalASCNET does not hold any rights over the resource listed here. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).

Citation List Month

October List 2024

Collection

Citation

Clarkson G; Sheikh NS; Johnson LA, “Grieving the Loss of a Child and the Use of Online Social Support: An Exploratory Survey Study,” Pediatric Palliative Care Library, accessed February 18, 2025, https://pedpalascnetlibrary.omeka.net/items/show/19767.