Parents and children coping with loss together

What is it about?

Coping with bereavement is an individual challenge and also a family task. This study focuses on how surviving parents and bereaved children cope with loss together in widowed families. We found strategies that parents and children cope with stressors related to both loss and life adjustment. We also identified important cognitions that drive bereaved persons to these dyadic coping behaviors.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Most previous research in bereavement has focused on individual experiences. Although the family perspective has been introduced into the field, neither theories nor empirical research has explored mutual interaction. Bereavement should be a family issue instead of only a personal issue. Understanding the interactional process among family members will help to build support for bereaved families.