Older Poor Parents who Lost an Adult Child to Aids in Togo, West Africa

A Qualitative Study

Dados Bibliográficos

ID13629613
AutoresA R Moore (0000-0002-6422-4383, University of North Texas, autor correspondente)
Ano2008
Volume56
Fascículo3
Páginas289-304
Data de publicação2008-01-03
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoOMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2190/om.56.3.e
PMID18300652
OpenAlexW2134463422
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas10
Referências citadas19

This study analyzes the difficulties that poor parents faced when they lost an adult child to AIDS in Togo. The death of a child is believed to be more distressful to parents compared to the death of a spouse. Evidence also suggests that parental grief is more lasting and may be the most complicated form of grief. Furthermore, the roles played by the deceased child in the lives of the parents also affect the parental grieving process. For instance, in low income regions where parents tend to be socio-economically challenged and where filial obligations are culturally expected, losing an adult child who provided material and financial assistance to parents will be more disastrous. Four kinds of difficulties were identified: financial and social difficulty, psychological difficulty, caregiving difficulty, and disclosure difficulty. The socioeconomic status of the parents made these issues all the more taxing, as respondents were grieving not only the loss of their children to AIDS but also the loss of financial providers. Policy implications of the findings are discussed

Affect (linguistics · Developmental psychology · Grief · Population · Psychiatry · Qualitative research · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Spouse · Demography · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology