Does Post-Traumatic Growth Follow Parental Death in Adulthood? An Empirical Investigation

Bibliographic Data

ID13628870
AuthorsKomal Qasim (University of Bolton, Bolton, UK), Jerome Carson (0000-0002-7596-116X, University of Bolton, Bolton, UK, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume86
Issue1
Pages25-44
Publication date2020-09-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0030222820961956
PMID32972305
OpenAlexW3088108187
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited40

This study looked at the loss of a parent in adulthood and whether this was followed by post-traumatic growth? Participants, 100 bereaved adults, from Pakistan and England, lost parents in the last 10 years. They completed three questionnaires. The study hypotheses were, first, that participants whose bereavement occurred more than five years ago would show significantly higher levels of post-traumatic growth. Second, participants with higher levels of post-traumatic growth would experience significantly higher grief scores. Thirdly, participants with higher levels of post-traumatic growth would show significantly higher levels of coping skills. Two hypotheses were rejected, only one received partial support. Yet, levels of post-traumatic growth were high in this sample. Post-traumatic growth does not follow every bereavement. The authors provide autoethnographic material to challenge this. Circumstances surrounding bereavement during the Covid-19 pandemic, are more likely to lead to increases in complicated grief reactions, rather than post-traumatic growth

Coping (psychology · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Developmental psychology · Disease · Grief · Pandemic · Posttraumatic growth · Psychiatry · Traumatic grief · Clinical Psychology · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research · Psychology