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Thesis/Dissertation Information
- Degree Disciplines:
- Education
Notes
- Abstract:
- Purpose: The intent of this research is to determine to what extent the loss of a child impacts the decision to divorce. Are parents more likely to divorce because they experienced the death of their child? The objective is to understand if marriages fail at a higher rate after the death of a child, as compared to the divorce rate in the general population. The grieving process in general and specifically the experiences of bereaved parents is examined to learn why some marriages survive while others split apart after the death of a child.
Method: Eighteen parents who experienced the death of a child participated in twelve interviews that explored the circumstances of their loss. The common link between all the participants was the shared experience of losing a child. A discussion was facilitated to understand the difficulty of coping with their loss and how it impacted the decision to divorce or not. The interviews were open ended and conversational in style.
The statements were organized into five major emotional themes and seven emotional sub-themes found to be common to all interviews.
Major findings: Parents who have lost a child and deal with a divorce at the same time experience uniquely different dynamics of the grieving process. The findings of this study are embedded in the lived experience of bereaved parents and the choices they made in their marriages as a result of their grief. Five major emotional themes were developed from their interviews: (1) blame, (2) support issues, (3) different grief processes, (4) anger, and (5) forgetting the deceased child. Additionally there were seven identified sub-themes, (1) helplessness, (2) fears, (3) isolation (4) guilt, (5) finances, (6) forgiveness, and (7) double grief. Every interview revealed multiple major themes. While no single major theme issue was found in every interview, all sub-themes were found to be present, to a greater or lesser extent, in all 12 interviews.
- Thesis:
- Thesis (Ph.D.)--Barry University, 2007.
- Bibliography:
- Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-114)
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Barry University
- Holding Location:
- Barry University Archives and Special Collections
- Rights Management:
- Copyright Charles K. Underwood. Permission granted to Barry University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
- Resource Identifier:
- BF575.G7 U63 2007_UnderwoodCharles ( BU-Local )
- Classification:
- BF575.G7 U63 2007 ( lcc )
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