Children’s Well Being after Deceased Fathers: A Qualitative Analysis of Mothers’ Views

Year 2022, Volume: 9 Issue: 3, 538 - 558, 28.10.2022

Münevver Özdemir , Şeyda Eruyar , Hikmet Yazıcı , Panos Vostanıs

https://doi.org/10.31682/ayna.1053408

Abstract

Death of a parent has adverse effects on the child’s well-being. The surviving parent is often the most important source of support for the child and a close witness of the child bereavement process. The aim of this study was to understand the perceived effects of paternal bereavement on children’s mental health and coping strategies through their mothers’ narratives. Adopting qualitative research methods, semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine mothers who had lost their spouses. Thematic analysis revealed three main themes: negative effects on mental health, posttraumatic growth, and coping strategies. The findings indicated that the consequences of paternal loss are not limited to negative effects on children’s functioning, as they may also experience positive changes following the loss. Moreover, mothers noticed that their children overcame paternal death successfully by using coping strategies such as discovering new activities, religion, and social support. Consequently, these findings indicated that grief-response and resilience-enhancing strategies should be tailored to the emotional needs of each family.

Keywords

trauma, mental health, paternal loss, coping

Baba Vefatından Sonra Çocukların İyi Oluşu: Anne Görüşlerine Dayalı Nitel Bir Analiz

Abstract

Ebeveynlerden birinin vefatı çocukların iyi oluşunu olumsuz yönde etkilemektedir. Hayatta kalan ebeveyn, genellikle, çocuk için en önemli destek kaynağıdır ve çocuğun yas tutma sürecinin yakın bir tanıdığıdır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, babanın yasını tutmanın çocukların psikolojik sağlığı ve başa çıkma stratejileri üzerindeki algılanan etkilerini annelerinin anlatıları aracılığıyla anlamaktır. Nitel araştırma yöntemlerine göre tasarlanan bu çalışmada, eşi vefat etmiş dokuz anne ile yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Yapılan tematik analiz sonucunda üç ana tema ortaya çıkmıştır: psikolojik sağlık üzerindeki negatif etkiler, travma sonrası büyüme ve başa çıkma stratejileri. Elde edilen bulgular baba kaybının sonuçlarının çocukların işlevselliği üzerindeki olumsuz etkilerle sınırlı olmadığını, çocukların kaybın ardından olumlu değişiklikler de deneyimleyebileceklerini göstermiştir. Dahası, anneler çocuklarının yeni aktiviteleri keşfetmek, din ve sosyal desteğe başvurmak gibi başa çıkma stratejilerini kullanarak baba vefatının üstesinden başarılı bir şekilde geldiklerini fark ettiklerini bildirmişlerdir. Sonuç olarak, bu bulgular kedere tepki ve dayanıklılık artırıcı stratejilerin her bir ailenin duygusal ihtiyaçlarına göre uyarlanması gerektiğini göstermiştir.

Keywords

Travma, ruh sağlığı, baba kaybı, başa çıkma

References

• Ajiboye, S. K., & Ajokpaniovo, M. (2019). Grief reactions and coping strategies to parental loss among in-school adolescents in Kwara State, Nigeria. Anatolian Journal of Education, 4(1), 85-92. https://doi.org/10.29333/aje.2019.418a American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5). American Psychiatric Pub.
• Asgari, Z., & Naghavi, A. (2020). The experience of adolescents’ post-traumatic growth after sudden loss of father. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 25(2), 173-187. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2019.1664723
• Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
• Brewer, J. D., & Sparkes, A. C. (2011). Young people living with parental bereavement: Insights from an ethnographic study of a UK childhood bereavement service. Social Science & Medicine, 72(2), 283-290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.10.032
• Büyüköztürk, Ş., Çakmak, E. K., Akgün, Ö. E., Karadeniz, Ş. & Demirel, F. (2014). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri, (17. Baskı). Ankara: Pegem Akademi Yayıncılık.
• Calhoun, L. G., & Tedeschi, R. G. (1999). Facilitating posttraumatic growth: A clinician's guide. New Jersey: Routledge.
• Cerel, J., Fristad, M. A., Verducci, J., Weller, R. A., & Weller, E. B. (2006). Childhood bereavement: Psychopathology in the 2 years post parental death. Journal of the American Academy of Child &Adolescent Psychiatry, 45(6), 681-690. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.chi.0000215327.58799.05
• Copeland, W. E., Keeler, G., Angold, A., & Costello, E. J. (2007). Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress in childhood. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64(5), 577-584. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.64.5.577
• Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Dillon, D. H., & Brassard, M. R. (1999). Adolescents and parental AIDS death: The role of social support. Omega-Journal of Death and Dying, 39(3), 179-195.
• Dyregrov, A., Salloum, A., Kristensen, P., & Dyregrov, K. (2015). Grief and traumatic grief in children in the context of mass trauma. Current Psychiatry Reports, 17(6), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-015-0577-x
• Eskin, M., Ertekin, K., Harlak, H., & Dereboy, Ç. (2008). Lise öğrencisi ergenlerde depresyonun yaygınlığı ve ilişkili olduğu etmenler. Türk Psikiyatri Dergisi, 19(4), 382-389.
• Flahault, C., Dolbeault, S., Sankey, C., & Fasse, L. (2018). Understanding grief in children who have lost a parent with cancer: How do they give meaning to this experience? Results of an interpretative phenomenological analysis. Death Studies, 42(8), 483-490. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2017.1383951
• Francis, J., Johnston, M., Robertson, C., Glidewell, L., Entwistle, V., Eccles, M., & Grimshaw, J. (2010). What is adequate sample size? Operationalising data saturation for theory-based interview studies. Psychology and Health, 25(10), 1229-1245. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870440903194015
• Gibbs, G. R. (2007). Analyzing qualitative data. United Kingdom: Sage.
• Gonzalez, A., Monzon, N., Solis, D., Jaycox, L., & Langley, A. K. (2016). Trauma exposure in elementary school children: Description of screening procedures, level of exposure, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. School Mental Health, 8(1), 77-88. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-015-9167-7
• Gray, L. B., Weller, R. A., Fristad, M., & Weller, E. B. (2011). Depression in children and adolescents two months after the death of a parent. Journal of Affective Disorders, 135(1-3), 277-283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2011.08.009
• Gustafsson, P. E., Nilsson, D., & Svedin, C. G. (2009). Polytraumatization and psychological symptoms in children and adolescents. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 18(5), 274-283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-008-0728-2
• Hirooka, K., Fukahori, H., Ozawa, M., & Akita, Y. (2017). Differences in posttraumatic growth and grief reactions among adolescents by relationship with the deceased. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 73(4), 955-965. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13196
• Howell, K. H., Barrett-Becker, E. P., Burnside, A. N., Wamser-Nanney, R., Layne, C. M., & Kaplow, J. B. (2016). Children facing parental cancer versus parental death: the buffering effects of positive parenting and emotional expression. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25(1), 152-164. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0198-3
• Itani, L., Haddad, Y. C., Fayyad, J., Karam, A., & Karam, E. (2014). Childhood adversities and traumata in Lebanon: Anational study. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health, 10, 116-125. https://doi.org/10.2174/1745017901410010116
• Kalantari, M., & Vostanis, P. (2010). Behavioural and emotional problems in Iranian children four years after parental death in an earthquake. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 56(2), 158-167. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764008101854
• Kaplow, J. B., Shapiro, D. N., Wardecker, B. M., Howell, K. H., Abelson, J. L., Worthman, C. M., & Prossin, A. R. (2013). Psychological and environmental correlates of HPA axis functioning in parentally bereaved children: Preliminary findings. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26(2), 233-240. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21788
• Khosravan, S., Salehi, S., Ahmadi, F., Sharif, F., & Zamani, A. (2010). Experiences of widows with children: A qualitative study about spousal death in Iran. Nursing & Health Sciences, 12(2), 205-211. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-2018.2010.00522.x
• Kristiansen, C. B., Kjær, J. N., Hjorth, P., Andersen, K., & Prina, A. M. (2019). Prevalence of common mental disorders in widowhood: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 245, 1016-1023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.088
• Kok, J. K., Lee, M. N., & Low, S. K. (2017). Coping abilities and social support of Myanmar teenage refugees in Malaysia. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 12(1), 71-80. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2016.1263774
• Kwok, O. M., Haine, R. A., Sandler, I. N., Ayers, T. S., Wolchik, S. A., & Tein, J. Y. (2005). Positive parenting as a mediator of the relations between parental psychological distress and mental health problems of parentally bereaved children. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34(2), 260-271.https://doi.org/10.1207/s15374424jccp3402_5
• Marsac, M. L., Donlon, K. A., Hildenbrand, A. K., Winston, F. K., & Kassam-Adams, N. (2014). Understanding recovery in children following traffic-related injuries: Exploring acute traumatic stress reactions, child coping, and coping assistance. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 19(2), 233-243. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104513487000
• McCann, L., & Pearlman, L. A. (2015). Psychological trauma and adult survivor theory: Therapy and transformation. New York: Routledge.
• McLafferty, M., Armour, C., McKenna, A., O’Neill, S., Murphy, S., & Bunting, B. (2015). Childhood adversity profiles and adult psychopathology in a representative Northern Ireland study. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 35, 42-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.07.004
• Melhem, N. M., Walker, M., Moritz, G., & Brent, D. A. (2008). Antecedents and sequelae of sudden parental death in offspring and surviving caregivers. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 162(5), 403-410. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.162.5.403
• Michael, C., & Cooper, M. (2013). Post-traumatic growth following bereavement: A systematic review of the literature. Counselling Psychology Review, 28(4), 18-33.
• Milam, J. E., Ritt-Olson, A., & Unger, J. B. (2004). Posttraumatic growth among adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19(2), 192-204. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558403258273
• Mutumba, M., Bauermeister, J. A., Harper, G. W., Musiime, V., Lepkowski, J., Resnicow, K., & Snow, R. C. (2017). Psychological distress among Ugandan adolescents living with HIV: Examining stressors and the buffering role of general and religious coping strategies. Global Public Health, 12(12), 1479-1491. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2016.1170871
• Rask, K., Kaunonen, M., & Paunonen‐Ilmonen, M. (2002). Adolescent coping with grief after the death of a loved one. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 8(3), 137-142. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-172X.2002.00354.x
• Raveis, V. H., Siegel, K., & Karus, D. (1999). Children's psychological distress following the death of a parent. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 28(2), 165-180.
• Rostila, M., Berg, L., Arat, A., Vinnerljung, B., & Hjern, A. (2016). Parental death in childhood and self-inflicted injuries in young adults-a national cohort study from Sweden. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 25(10), 1103-1111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-016-0833-6
• Ruppert, F. (2014a). Ruhtaki bölünmeler (F. Zengin, Çev.). Kaknüs Yayınları. (2011)
• Ruppert, F. (2014b). Travma, bağlanma ve aile konstellasyonları (F. Zengin, Çev.). Kaknüs Yayınları. (2008)
• Russoniello, C. V., Skalko, T. K., O'Brien, K., McGhee, S. A., Bingham-Alexander, D., & Beatley, J. (2002). Childhood posttraumatic stress disorder and efforts to cope after Hurricane Floyd. Behavioral Medicine, 28(2), 61-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/08964280209596399
• Sandler, I. N., Ma, Y., Tein, J. Y., Ayers, T. S., Wolchik, S., Kennedy, C., & Millsap, R. (2010). Long-term effects of the family bereavement program on multiple indicators of grief in parentally bereaved children and adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 78(2), 131-143. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018393
• Shaw, A., Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2005). Religion, spirituality, and posttraumatic growth: A systematic review. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 8(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/1367467032000157981
• Sleijpen, M., Mooren, T., Kleber, R. J., & Boeije, H. R. (2017). Lives on hold: A qualitative study of young refugees’ resilience strategies. Childhood, 24(3), 348-365. https://doi.org/10.1177/0907568217690031
• Soares, A. L. G., Howe, L. D., Matijasevich, A., Wehrmeister, F. C., Menezes, A. M., & Gonçalves, H. (2016). Adverse childhood experiences: Prevalence and related factors in adolescents of a Brazilian birth cohort. Child Abuse & Neglect, 51, 21-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.11.017
• Sofuoğlu, Z., Oral, R., Aydın, F., Cankardeş, S., Kandemirci, B., Koç, F., Halıcıoğlu, O., & Akşit, S. (2014). Epidemiological study of negative childhood experiences in three provinces of Turkey. Turkish Archives of Pediatrics, 49(1), 47-56. https://doi.org/10.5152/tpa.2014.838
• Stallard, P., Velleman, R., Langsford, J., & Baldwin, S. (2001). Coping and psychological distress in children involved in road traffic accidents. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 40(2), 197-208. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466501163643
• Stoppelbein, L., & Greening, L. (2000). Posttraumatic stress symptoms in parentally bereaved children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 39(9), 1112-1119.
• Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (1995). Trauma and transformation. Sage.
• Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (1996). The posttraumatic growth inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9(3), 455–471. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02103658
• Thabet, A., & Vostanis, P. (2015). Impact of trauma on Palestinian children’s mental health and the role of coping strategies. BJMMR, 5, 330–340.
• Weber, M., Alvariza, A., Kreicbergs, U., & Sveen, J. (2019). Communication in families with minor children following the loss of a parent to cancer. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 39, 41-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejon.2019.01.005
• Wei, W., Li, X., Tu, X., Zhao, J., & Zhao, G. (2016). Perceived social support, hopefulness, and emotional regulations as mediators of the relationship between enacted stigma and post-traumatic growth among children affected by parental HIV/AIDS in rural China. AIDS Care, 28, 99-105. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2016.1146217
• Williamson, V., Butler, I., Tomlinson, M., Skeen, S., Christie, H., Stewart, J., & Halligan, S. L. (2017). Caregiver responses to child posttraumatic distress: A qualitative study in a high‐risk context in South Africa. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 30(5), 482-490. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22215
• Williamson, V., Creswell, C., Butler, I., Christie, H., & Halligan, S. L. (2019). Parental experiences of supporting children with clinically significant post-traumatic distress: A qualitative study of families accessing psychological services. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 12, 61-72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-017-0158-8
• Yin, R. K. (2014), Case study research: Design and methods, (5. ed.). SAGE Publications.
• Zhou, X., Wu, X., & Zhen, R. (2017). Understanding the relationship between social support and posttraumatic stress disorder/posttraumatic growth among adolescents after Ya’an earthquake: The role of emotion regulation. Psychological trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 9(2), 214-221. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000213