Factors Underlying the Relationship Between Parent and Child Grief

Intergenerational coping: Examining how caregiver and child coping relate to resilience in bereaved children

The death of a loved one can have harmful effects on children's mental health, yet some bereaved children exhibit resilience. Various caregiver and child coping strategies, including active and avoidant coping, may affect the psychosocial functioning of bereaved children. The current study recruited 78 bereaved children aged 8-17 and one of their caregivers to explore: 1) how caregivers' coping strategies affect their child's coping strategies and resilience, and 2) associations between children's coping and their resilience. Results from the active coping mediation model revealed that children's active coping was significantly associated with their resilience, and caregivers' active coping was indirectly associated with children's resilience through children's active coping. The avoidant coping model was not significant. These preliminary findings highlight the importance of promoting active coping strategies among bereaved children and caregivers.

Teachers as caregivers of grieving children in school in the post-COVID-19 era: using the self-determination theory to conceptualize teachers' needs when supporting grieving children's mental health

Background

It has been estimated in recent studies that more than 1.5 million children worldwide lost a caregiver due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Childhood bereavement is associated with heightened risks of impaired academic and social performance, mental health issues, substance use disorders, and higher mortality rates. Yet children may receive insufficient support post-loss. Although the role of school psychologists in supporting grieving students has been examined, little is known about the role of teachers in this context. Specifically, knowledge about teachers' needs when supporting bereaved children is lacking.

Objective

The study's aim was to explore teachers' needs, drawing upon a well-established framework-self-determination theory (SDT)-which focuses on three human needs considered essential for optimal functioning: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

Methods

Employing a qualitative approach, 36 teachers were interviewed about their needs when supporting grieving students. Interviews were transcribed and then analyzed using thematic content analysis.

Results

Analysis revealed three SDT-related needs: knowledge (theory- and practice-related), acknowledgment, and support (emotional and practical).

Conclusions

The findings enhance our theoretical understanding of childhood bereavement and may promote policy changes that ensure teachers' needs satisfaction. Its significance lies in the basic premise that supporting teachers' needs in the context of pediatric grief may eventually lead to their optimal ability to enact best practices for supporting grieving students' well-being.

Cohort profile of FALCON: a prospective nationwide cohort of families with minor children who have lost a parent in Denmark in 2019-2021

Difficulties in recruiting newly bereaved families and following them over time present a major barrier in grief research following the death of a spouse/parent. We established FALCON-the first prospective nationwide cohort of families with children below age 18 years whose parent died in Denmark between April 2019 and July 2021. Data from parents and children were collected within 2 months of death with ongoing follow-up assessments up to 18 months post-death. A total of 992 families were invited. The final cohort consisted of 250 families (250 widowed parents, 134 adolescents, 120 children aged 6-12 years and 63 children aged 0-5 years). In this paper, we describe the rationale for the cohort's creation, the challenges of researching grief in families, the methods used and future plans to utilize this unique family-level dataset.

Childhood Bereavement, Adverse and Positive Childhood Experiences, and Flourishing among Chinese Young Adults

Childhood bereavement (CB) resulting from a parent or primary caregiver death is associated with a range of adverse outcomes. Little is known about the association between CB and adult flourishing in the context of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and positive childhood experiences (PCEs). In a cross-sectional observational study, we examined how ACEs, PCEs, and adult flourishing differs by self-reported CB history among 9468 Chinese young adults (18-35 years), of which 4.3% experienced CB (n = 409). Data collection included convenience sampling among university students in Mainland China. Respondents voluntarily completed an online survey between August and November 2020. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regressions examined frequencies and differences in ACEs, PCEs, and flourishing by the history of CB controlling for a few demographic covariates. Bereaved individuals reported significantly higher ACEs and lower PCEs. The odds of experiencing emotional, physical, and sexual abuse as well as household substance abuse, parental mental illness, and parental incarceration ranged from 2.0-5.2 times higher for bereaved individuals. Bereaved participants also reported significant negative relationships with Flourishing Index (β = -0.35, t = -4.19, p < 0.001) and Secure Flourishing Index (β = -0.40, t = -4.96, p < 0.001). Consistent with previous research, our findings demonstrate the lasting effects of CB on well-being. We discuss study implications for ACEs and PCEs screening and surveillance as well as grief counseling to promote flourishing among bereaved youth in China and beyond.

Parental Engagement in Grief Programming Is Related to Children's Outcomes

A multivariate model was used to study outcomes of childhood bereavement. The model included exogenous factors such as engagement and within-person resilience factors. Sixty-two parent-child dyads were recruited from a local children's grief center and completed measures of engagement in the programming, resilience and grief. A complex model was revealed in which parental engagement in the grief program was related to child engagement and the child's control beliefs which in turn were significantly related to the child's grief symptoms. These variables existed within a system, rather than within an individual.

Very Young Child Survivors' Perceptions of Their Father's Suicide: Exploring Bibliotherapy as Postvention Support

Each year in the United States, 7000 to 30,000 children experience their parent's suicide. Due to the stigma associated with suicide, feelings of guilt, and intense grief, surviving family members avoid talking about suicide. Over time, children struggle with confusion and intense emotions associated with their parent's suicide. In this study, seven adults, who reported being younger than six years old at the time of their father's suicide, participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Participants' responses highlight the challenges that young children face due to limited memories of their deceased parent. Interviews concluded with an opportunity for participants to review and express their impressions of 10 children's picture books. Participants offered impressions about how these books may or may not be helpful in supporting young child survivors. Implications for applied practice include considering how children's literature may open communication and assist children in navigating Worden's tasks of grief: (a) accepting the reality of their parent's death; (b) facing the grief and pain; (c) adapting to life changes due to their father's suicide, in particular adapting to altered family relationships; and (d) building memories of the deceased loved one, when possible, to ensure healthy attachment to the deceased parent. Participants' insights provide considerations for selecting children's literature for bibliotherapy. Due to young child survivors' increased risk for attempting and completing suicide, supporting child survivors of parent suicide not only addresses postvention needs but aligns with suicide prevention.

Dyadic Relationships between a Surviving Parent and Children in Widowed Families: A Systematic Scoping Review

The death of a family member affects not only individual family members but also their relationships and interactions. Grief has been studied mostly as an intrapersonal experience. Adopting the family perspective, this systematic scoping review focused on parent-child relationships in widowed families so as to identify what is already known on this topic and the research gaps for future study. The review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Four databases (Web of Science, Psycinfo, PubMed, and CINAHL Plus) were searched. Search terms were combinations of two concepts: (1) loss of a parent (20 terms) and (2) parent-child (eight terms). 5,419 studies were identified during the search, of which 36 studies were included in the review following two rounds of screening. Four research themes emerged, and the aggregated findings were identified: (a) The surviving parent and children are likely to become closer following the loss of a parent, while other relevant factors need to be taken into account; (b) Better parent-child relationships play a protective role in children's adjustment to loss; (c) The surviving parent and children's adjustment to loss are interdependent; (d) Through parenting, communication style, coping strategy, and other attributes, the surviving parent can influence their children's adjustment. Gender and age differences were identified in parent-child relationships. The findings further justify the importance of a family perspective when conducting research and practice on bereavement. Several research gaps were identified. Existing studies paid insufficient attention to children's agency and bidirectional relationships, and the interaction process and its role underlying parent-child bidirectional causality. A conceptual framework of parent-child relationships in widowed families is proposed based on these findings.

Psychological symptoms in widowed parents with minor children, 2-4 years after the loss of a partner to cancer

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to explore psychological symptoms in widowed parents with minor children, 2-4 years after the death of their partner. A second aim was to examine the associations between psychological symptoms and nonmodifiable and modifiable illness and healthcare-related factors.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey study on widowed parents with minor children after the loss of a partner to cancer. In total, 42 parents completed an online questionnaire including instruments for assessing symptoms of anxiety, depression, grief rumination, prolonged grief, and posttraumatic stress. Descriptive statistics, Spearman's correlation coefficients, Mann-Whitney U tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to analyze differences in symptomology based on modifiable and nonmodifiable factors.

RESULTS

Parents reported moderate-severe symptoms of anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and depression. Reporting having received more information during the partner's illness regarding how the illness could affect the partner's somatic and psychological health and where to turn for support were associated with fewer psychological symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

A substantial proportion of widowed parents with minor children reported a moderate-severe symptom burden regarding depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress, and less so with prolonged grief symptoms. This study also highlighted the value of receiving information from healthcare personnel regarding the somatic and psychological effects of a partner's illness and where widowed parents can turn for support.

Predictive Values of Early Parental Loss and Psychopathological Risk for Physical Problems in Early Adolescents

Background: Several studies have suggested that the early loss of parents is a potentially traumatic experience, exposing adolescents to a higher risk for the onset of psychopathological symptoms. Furthermore, research has shown an association between the loss of a parent in childhood and subsequent physical illnesses, but much less attention has been given to the predictive role of loss in the development of physical illness in adolescence. Methods: From a larger normative sample, we selected 418 early adolescents (and their surviving parents) each of whom had lost a parent in their first 3 years of life. We evaluate the offspring's and parents' psychopathological symptoms, dissociation, and physical problems over a 6-year period. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analyses with time-dependent variables were used to examine the predictive values of the adolescents' and surviving parents' psychopathological symptoms, and youths' demographic characteristics (sex and age) for the occurrence of physical illness during a 6-year period of follow-up. Results: Independently of sex, the psychopathological risk of the surviving parents' and adolescents' affective problems and dissociation has been found to predict the occurrence of physical illnesses. Furthermore, dissociation was the most significant predictor of significant physical problems. Conclusion: These results may be relevant and an addition to the previous literature, opening up new possibilities for prevention and intervention that are oriented toward greater support for children who have experienced the loss of one parent and for surviving parents.