The influence of actors on the content and execution of a bereavement programme

A Bourdieu-inspired ethnographical field study in Sweden

Bibliographic Data

ID22067656
AuthorsHakima Karidar (0000-0002-9874-6833, Lund University, corresponding author), Pia Lundqvist (0000-0003-0350-440X, Lund University), Glasdam (0000-0002-0893-3054, Lund University), Stinne Glasdam
Year2024
Volume12
Pages1395682-1395682
Publication date2024-05-23
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpubh.2024.1395682
PMID38846616
OpenAlexW4398254291
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited66

Introduction: The death of a parent can have profound negative impacts on children, and a lack of adequate support can exacerbate negative life experiences. Aim: To explore the influences of various actors on the content and execution of a bereavement programme within a Swedish context, considering relational and contextual perspectives. Methods: An ethnographic field study involving six children, their parents, and eight volunteers. A theory-inspired thematic analysis was conducted, methodically inspired by Braun and Clarke, theoretically inspired by Bourdieu's concepts of position, power, and capital. Results: Confidentiality obligation was an essential element in the programme, however, the premisses varied depending on actors' positions. Volunteers and researchers had different outlets to express their experiences in the program. The programme offered the children an exclusive space for talking about and sharing experiences and feelings. Simultaneously, the programme restricted the children by not allowing them to share their experiences and feelings outside the physical space. The physical settings shaped the different conditions for interactions among the actors. The sessions adopted loss-oriented approaches, where communication between volunteers and children was guided by the volunteers. However, children created strategies for additional, voiceless communication with their peers or themselves. During breaks and mingles, shared interests or spaces connected children (and adults) more than their common experience of parental bereavement. Conclusion: The participants in the programme were significantly influenced by the structural framework of the programme, and their positions within the programme provided them with different conditions of possibility for (inter)acting. Children's daily activities and interests were both ways to cope with parental bereavement and connect them to other people

Epistemology · Ethnography · Sociology · Anthropology · Family Support in Illness · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Philosophy

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