Finnish parents’ perceptions of death following the traumatic death of a child
Abstract Children are expected to outlive and live longer than their parents. However, the traumatic death of a child challenges parents’ understanding of life and death. If parents are unable to form their own perceptions of death after such a loss, it can hinder their ability to cope and adjust. T...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-01-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-02220-8 |
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| author | Nur Atikah Mohamed Hussin Terhi Talvitie Eetu Laitinen Anna Liisa Aho |
| author_facet | Nur Atikah Mohamed Hussin Terhi Talvitie Eetu Laitinen Anna Liisa Aho |
| author_sort | Nur Atikah Mohamed Hussin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Children are expected to outlive and live longer than their parents. However, the traumatic death of a child challenges parents’ understanding of life and death. If parents are unable to form their own perceptions of death after such a loss, it can hinder their ability to cope and adjust. This study aims to explore parents’ perceptions of death following the traumatic death of a child. To recruit participants, an online advertisement was posted on the websites of Finnish bereavement organizations, their member mailing lists, and closed discussion groups. The study consisted of two phases. In the initial phase, 66 parents responded to open-ended questions via the LimeSurvey platform. Subsequently, 17 parents were interviewed in-depth over the phone. The findings were analyzed using thematic analysis. The perceptions of parents who had experienced the traumatic death of a child included death is universal, awakening or preparing for their own death, reunion in death, death and spiritual growth, and death is unjustified. These findings highlight the importance of providing support to parents following the traumatic death of a child, which can help them reconstruct perceptions of death and better adapt to their loss. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4f82e0b8a3a847f0af7337baeb81895b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2050-7283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-4f82e0b8a3a847f0af7337baeb81895b2025-01-19T12:43:55ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832025-01-0113111010.1186/s40359-024-02220-8Finnish parents’ perceptions of death following the traumatic death of a childNur Atikah Mohamed Hussin0Terhi Talvitie1Eetu Laitinen2Anna Liisa Aho3Faculty of Social Sciences (Health), Tampere UniversityFaculty of Social Sciences (Health), Tampere UniversityFaculty of Social Sciences (Health), Tampere UniversityFaculty of Social Sciences (Health), Tampere UniversityAbstract Children are expected to outlive and live longer than their parents. However, the traumatic death of a child challenges parents’ understanding of life and death. If parents are unable to form their own perceptions of death after such a loss, it can hinder their ability to cope and adjust. This study aims to explore parents’ perceptions of death following the traumatic death of a child. To recruit participants, an online advertisement was posted on the websites of Finnish bereavement organizations, their member mailing lists, and closed discussion groups. The study consisted of two phases. In the initial phase, 66 parents responded to open-ended questions via the LimeSurvey platform. Subsequently, 17 parents were interviewed in-depth over the phone. The findings were analyzed using thematic analysis. The perceptions of parents who had experienced the traumatic death of a child included death is universal, awakening or preparing for their own death, reunion in death, death and spiritual growth, and death is unjustified. These findings highlight the importance of providing support to parents following the traumatic death of a child, which can help them reconstruct perceptions of death and better adapt to their loss.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-02220-8PerceptionTraumatic deathDeaths of child(ren)GriefQualitative |
| spellingShingle | Nur Atikah Mohamed Hussin Terhi Talvitie Eetu Laitinen Anna Liisa Aho Finnish parents’ perceptions of death following the traumatic death of a child BMC Psychology Perception Traumatic death Deaths of child(ren) Grief Qualitative |
| title | Finnish parents’ perceptions of death following the traumatic death of a child |
| title_full | Finnish parents’ perceptions of death following the traumatic death of a child |
| title_fullStr | Finnish parents’ perceptions of death following the traumatic death of a child |
| title_full_unstemmed | Finnish parents’ perceptions of death following the traumatic death of a child |
| title_short | Finnish parents’ perceptions of death following the traumatic death of a child |
| title_sort | finnish parents perceptions of death following the traumatic death of a child |
| topic | Perception Traumatic death Deaths of child(ren) Grief Qualitative |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-02220-8 |
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