Thesis Abstract

Abstract
This research project aims to investigate the influence of the sex of the parent, timing of loss, and age of the child on unresolved grief among bereaved parents. Grief is a complex and multifaceted emotional response to loss, and unresolved grief can have long-lasting negative impacts on an individual's mental health and well-being. Understanding the factors that contribute to unresolved grief among bereaved parents is crucial for developing effective interventions and support strategies. The sex of the parent may play a role in how grief is experienced and resolved. Research suggests that mothers and fathers may grieve differently, with mothers often being more expressive and seeking social support, while fathers may internalize their grief and focus on practical matters. These differences in coping styles may influence the likelihood of unresolved grief among bereaved parents. The timing of the loss is another important factor to consider. Losing a child suddenly and unexpectedly may result in a different grieving process compared to losing a child after a prolonged illness. Parents who experience a sudden loss may struggle to make sense of the death and may have difficulties accepting the reality of the loss, which can contribute to unresolved grief. Additionally, the age of the child at the time of death may also impact the grieving process. Parents who lose a young child may experience intense feelings of guilt and a sense of unfinished parenting responsibilities, while parents who lose an adult child may struggle with feelings of lost potential and dreams for the future. These age-related differences in grieving experiences may influence the likelihood of unresolved grief among bereaved parents. By examining the influence of the sex of the parent, timing of loss, and age of the child on unresolved grief among bereaved parents, this research project aims to contribute to the existing literature on grief and bereavement. The findings of this study may have important implications for developing targeted interventions and support services for bereaved parents, with the ultimate goal of promoting healing and resilience in the face of loss.

Thesis Overview

INTRODUCTION

It is not clear exactly how many young people are affected by the death of an immediate family member. Kliman estimates that 5 percent of children in the United States—1.5 million—lose one or both parents by age 15; others suggest that the proportion is substantially higher in lower socioeconomic groups. This chapter discusses the types of bereavements considered to have the most serious implications for medical, psychiatric, and behavioral sequelae in children—namely, death of a parent or sibling. Because more of the literature in this field deals with parental than with sibling loss and because many of the reactions to both types of bereavement overlap, most of the discussion is based on studies of response to the death of a parent.Bereaved Parents

Individuals continue to grow and develop throughout life, but during no other period beyond childhood and adolescence are specific reactions as likely to be influenced by the level of development. Because the impact of trauma in children depends so heavily on the life stage during which the event occurs, this chapter is informed by a particular emphasis on developmental analysis. This perspective assumes that the repercussions and meanings of major object loss will be colored by the individual child’s level of development. Psychiatrists and others have generally been struck by how often major childhood loss seems to result in psychopathology. Studies of adults with various mental disorders, especially depression, frequently reveal childhood bereavement, suggesting that such loss may precipitate or contribute to the development of a variety of psychiatric disorders and that this experience can render a person emotionally vulnerable for life. This special vulnerability of children is attributed to developmental immaturity and insufficiently developed coping capacities.Bereaved Parents

The tendency to impose adult models on children has generally led to a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding about children’s grieving. Although sharing some similarities with adults and even with monkeys , children’s reactions to loss do not look exactly like adults’ reactions, either in their specific manifestations or in their duration.Bereaved Parents

For example, often what seems glib and unemotional in the small child—such as telling every visitor or stranger on the street, “my sister died”—is the child’s way of seeking support and observing others to gauge how he or she should feel. Children may be observed playing games in which the death or funeral activities are reenacted in an effort to master the loss. A child may ask the same questions about the death over and over again, not so much for the factual value of the information as for reassurance that the story has not changed. A four- or five-year-old might resume playing following a death as if nothing distressing had happened. Such behavior reflects the cognitive and emotional capacity of the child and does not mean that the death had no impact.