The relationship between grief adjustment and continuing bonds for parents who have lost a child.
This article presents findings from a study on the impact of a child's death on parents. We explored the prominence and adaptiveness of parents' continuing bonds expressions, psychological adjustment, and grief reactions. A qualitative case study methodology was used to describe six cases. Participants were classified into two groups based on scores on the Inventory of Complicated Grief. Commonalities in themes on the Continuing Bonds Interview and projective drawings were assessed. Those in the Non-Complicated Grief Group reported internalization of positive qualities and identification with the deceased child as a role model, whereas participants in the Complicated Grief Group did not report these experiences. In addition, the drawings of those in the Non-Complicated Grief Group were evaluated as more adaptive than those in the Complicated Grief Group.
Ronen
Rama
R
Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, Palo Alto, California 94304, USA. rama_golan@yahoo.com
Packman
Wendy
W
Field
Nigel P
NP
Davies
Betty
B
Kramer
Robin
R
Long
Janet K
JK
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001293:Attitude to Death; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires