Trauma of the Sudden Death of a Child: The Impact on Couple Relationship
type: CreativeWork
description: A traumatic life event such as the death of a child can be very devastating and confusing for many couples and people tend to respond in different ways to such trauma due to different factors such as gender differences. Research studies have traditionally focused on the personal effects of trauma on individual family members, whereas less attention centered on the systemic outcomes and consequences that trauma has on family functioning especially from the couples' perspective. Previous research has indicated that parents who lost their children to sudden death are likely to have serious mental distress and some disruption in functioning. However, there remains an important gap in the current literature regarding the causes and outcomes of interpersonal and relational issues that confront a couple dealing with such trauma. The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the adjustments that may occur in couple relationships following the sudden death of a child. Findings from this study revealed that strategies used by participants (individually and as couples) when dealing with the sudden death of a child contributed to their relationships becoming stronger or deteriorating following the loss. These findings would be an important contribution not only to the existing literature but in conceptualizing, diagnosing, and implementing interventions with bereaved parents.
abstract: A traumatic life event such as the death of a child can be very devastating and confusing for many couples and people tend to respond in different ways to such trauma due to different factors such as gender differences. Research studies have traditionally focused on the personal effects of trauma on individual family members, whereas less attention centered on the systemic outcomes and consequences that trauma has on family functioning especially from the couples' perspective. Previous research has indicated that parents who lost their children to sudden death are likely to have serious mental distress and some disruption in functioning. However, there remains an important gap in the current literature regarding the causes and outcomes of interpersonal and relational issues that confront a couple dealing with such trauma. The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the adjustments that may occur in couple relationships following the sudden death of a child. Findings from this study revealed that strategies used by participants (individually and as couples) when dealing with the sudden death of a child contributed to their relationships becoming stronger or deteriorating following the loss. These findings would be an important contribution not only to the existing literature but in conceptualizing, diagnosing, and implementing interventions with bereaved parents.
author: Okoro Rellias, Blessing
language: English
keywords: Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling, Death, Sudden; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Parents -- Psychology; Social Medicine; Grounded Theory; Couples Therapy; Marital Therapy, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Grounded Theory, Family of Origin, Relationships, Sudden Death, Bereavement
date published: 2011-12-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:52:08Z
provider: Loma Linda University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Loma Linda University