Coping with the death of a child: a study over time.
The usefulness of coping as an explanatory variable in parental adjustment to the death of a child is suggested in a study of 194 parents who responded to a survey shortly after their bereavement and again a year later. The most adaptive coping strategies were active and externally directed, including replacement of the child and altruism; least adaptive were escape and preoccupation with the child. Effects of participation in a self-help group are examined and discussed.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000275:Adjustment Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D013997:Time Factors