Acute and long-term grief reactions and experiences in parentally cancer-bereaved teenagers

BMC Palliative Care

Tove Bylund-Grenklo¹  Ulrika Kreicbergs²  Viktor Skokic³  Gunnar Steineck⁴  Dröfn Birgisdóttir⁵  Carl Johan Fürst⁵  Jimmie Kristensson⁶  Kim Beenaert⁷  Tommy Nyberg⁸ 

[1] Department of Caring Science, Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, University of Gävle, SE-801 76, Gävle, Sweden;Department of Caring Sciences, Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College, Palliative Research Center, Stockholm, Sweden;Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden;Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Cancer Epidemiology, Stockholm, Sweden;Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Cancer Epidemiology, Stockholm, Sweden;Department of Oncology, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Division of Clinical Cancer Epidemiology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Gothenburg, Sweden;Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Oncology and Pathology, Institute for Palliative Care, Lund University and Region Skåne, Medicon Village, Hus 404B, 223 81, Lund, Sweden;Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Oncology and Pathology, Institute for Palliative Care, Lund University and Region Skåne, Medicon Village, Hus 404B, 223 81, Lund, Sweden;Faculty of Medicine, Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden;Ghent University & Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), End-of-Life Care Research Group, Ghent, Belgium;Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium;MRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK;Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Division of Clinical Cancer Epidemiology, Stockholm, Sweden;

关键词: Adolescents;    Bereavement;    Cancer;    Grief;    Loss;    Mourning;    Oncology;    Parental death;    Teenagers;    Unresolved grief;    Young adults;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12904-021-00758-7

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPrevious research shows that many cancer-bereaved youths report unresolved grief several years after the death of a parent. Grief work hypothesis suggests that, in order to heal, the bereaved needs to process the pain of grief in some way. This study explored acute grief experiences and reactions in the first 6 months post-loss among cancer-bereaved teenagers. We further explored long-term grief resolution and potential predictors of having had “an okay way to grieve” in the first months post-loss.MethodsWe used a population-based nationwide, study-specific survey to investigate acute and long-term grief experiences in 622 (73% response rate) bereaved young adults (age > 18) who, 6–9 years earlier, at ages 13–16 years, had lost a parent to cancer. Associations were assessed using bivariable and multivariable logistic regression.ResultsFifty-seven per cent of the participants reported that they did not have a way to grieve that felt okay during the first 6 months after the death of their parent. This was associated with increased risk for long-term unresolved grief (odds ratio (OR): 4.32, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.99–6.28). An association with long-term unresolved grief was also found for those who reported to have been numbing and postponing (42%, OR: 1.73, 95% CI: 1.22–2.47), overwhelmed by grief (24%, OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.35–3.04) and discouraged from grieving (15%, OR: 2.68, 95% CI: 1.62–4.56) or to have concealed their grief to protect the other parent (24%, OR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.23–2.73). Predictors of having had an okay way to grieve included being male, having had good family cohesion, and having talked about what was important with the dying parent.ConclusionMore than half of the cancer-bereaved teenagers did not find a way to grieve that felt okay during the first 6 months after the death of their parent and the acute grief experiences and reaction were associated with their grief resolution long-term, i.e. 6–9 years post-loss. Facilitating a last conversation with their dying parent, good family cohesion, and providing teenagers with knowledge about common grief experiences may help to prevent long-term unresolved grief.

【 授权许可】

CC BY