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Understanding Prolonged Grief Disorder in Children : The Influence of Parental Grief and Cause of Death

Coban, Feray (2025) Understanding Prolonged Grief Disorder in Children : The Influence of Parental Grief and Cause of Death.

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Abstract:The death of a loved one can significantly affect a child's emotional well-being, with Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) being a potential outcome. While PGD has been studied in adults, less is known about the relationship between parental and child PGD. This study explores the relationship between parental PGD severity and child PGD severity after a loss, focusing on whether this relationship is influenced by the cause of death (sudden vs. expected). Data were collected from 56 Dutch-speaking parent-child dyads who experienced a significant loss. Parents completed the Traumatic Grief Inventory - Self-Report Plus (TGI-SR+) to measure their PGD, and a parent-proxy PGD score was completed for their child using the Traumatic Grief Inventory-Kids-Clinician Administered (TGI-K-CA). Results showed a significant positive association between parental and child PGD severity, with children of parents with higher PGD symptoms showing more severe grief symptoms. Age and time since the loss also influenced child PGD severity, but the cause of death did not moderate the relationship between parental and child PGD severity. This highlights the importance of the caregiving environment, particularly parental emotional support, in shaping children's grief responses. Further research is needed to explore how variations in parenting styles influence the transference of grief.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:77 psychology
Programme:Psychology BSc (56604)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/104967
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