The loss of a child : the long term impact upon the parent-child bond

• Main Author: Merrington, Bill
• Published: University of Warwick 2003
• Subjects: 155; BF Psychology
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.524457

Research has been carried out from a psychological perspective, to examine the effects of bereavement in families when they have experienced the loss of a baby, child, teenager or young adult. This has involved interviewing parents in Lebanon, Tanzania and Uganda. The results were then compared to previous research carried out by the author in England (For a M.Phil. in Theology titled, ‘Bereavement in Families who have lost Babies, Children and Teenagers; An Empirical and Theological Study’. Birmingham University , 1995). Using the collective data, the theory of Shadow Grief is investigated in terms of whether it is a genuine condition within bereaved parents, as compared to other grief reactions such as chronic grief, disenfranchised grief or pathological grief. It was found that the bond between a parent and child was a particularly deep rooted affectionate bond. There are similarities between this bond and Bowlby’s concept of attachment theory. Parents from the English sample showed some signs of maintaining a bond with the deceased many years after the loss. This was seen to a lesser extent in the African context. This requires further research to clarify this effect both in the English culture and cross-culturally, looking at a broader section of communities where child loss had taken place. Grief therapists need to be more aware of the long lasting effects that the loss of a child has upon a parent, especially those who are bereaved of older children.