D C :
I A
HSCO 502 Impact Assignment
Jerome Bonner
Liberty University
Introduction
•There is no prominent torment than that of a parent who lost a child.
According to the U.S National Center for National Center for Health
Statistics, more than 50,000 youngsters pass away in the United
States each year.
•Loss of children are due to:
Illness
Miscarriage
Kidnapping
Still births
Developmental Impact:
•Guardians and parents lose their children at all ages, there is no set
age of when parents typically lose their kids. It various from teen
parents to older adults
•The age of the child does not effect the grief a parent feels
Developmental Impact
•Many guardians give up on life
•Parents tend to question the ultimate meaning to life
•Parents also question God and the purpose of the death
•Freud, expected that individuals who encountered the passing of a
friend or family member would need to pull back their enthusiastic
connections and afterwards disconnect themselves from the individual
lost.
5 Stages of Grief
•Parents go through 5 stages of
grief:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
Freud’s Insight
•Within Freud’s procedure, he noticed
that an individual would
1. Lose enthusiasm for the world
2. Pull back or detach themselves from
everybody
3. Harp on considerations and past
recollections about the individual that
was lost
4. Fall into discouragement and depression
Environmental Impact
•Parents grieving from the loss of a child
tend to isolate themselves from the world
and avoid talking about the grief
•Parents tend to express anger in dealing
with the pain
Impact on Family
•Issues within the parents and other family members can occur:
Parents tend to blame one another
Other siblings and children become
forgotten about during the parents
grieving periods
Siblings can express anger and other
behavioral issues in regards to the
siblings death
Strategies for Dealing with
Grief
•Therapy: talk about your feelings
or write it down
•Stay active! Exercise to keep you
mind busy
•Talk about the great memories of
the child
Strategies for Dealing with
Grief
•Support group at local church
•Therapy: Grief counselor
•Physical activities
•Support system: family, friends, spouse, pastor
•Give it time! Healing does not happen over night
Faith Perspectives
•Many parents tend to blame God, following after the death of their
child. They question their faith in God
•Others pray for healing in terms of the pain they are going through
•Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. (Matthew:
5:4)
Professional Help
•The professional counselor needs to provide a calm
and safe space for the individual to be transparent
and vulnerable
•The counselor can create therapy groups for the
parents ability to receive advise and validation from
other parents who have lost and healed from the
pain of loosing a child.
Resources: Educational Readings
References
•Albuquerque, S., Buyukcan-Tetik, A., Stroebe, M. S., Schut, H. W.,
Narciso, I., Pereira, M., & Finkenauer, C. (2017). Meaning and coping
orientation of bereaved parents: Individual and dyadic processes. Plos
ONE, 12(6), 1-14. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0178861
•Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). Gains and Losses in Late
Adulthood. In The Life Span (4th ed.,). [E-Book]. Retrieved fromF
https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780133549300
•U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2015). The Death of a
Child, The Grief of The Parents: A Lifetime Journey. Retrieved May 25th,
2020, fromF
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Wellness/docs/Grief-Of-Parents-Lifetime-Journey.
pdf
FU.S. National Center for Health Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S.
Government Printing Office;
•F
