The Meaning of Death of the First Elderly Parent: A Family Perspective

University Of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore MD

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Abstract

Meanings and processes that occur in a family particularly among adult children and widows, upon the death of an elderly parent, have broad implications for family life and bereavement issues. However, the relationship between a surviving parent and bereaved adult children, and among the adult children as siblings, has very rarely been studied. For this research, we will focus on the triad of relationships among the older surviving mother, a focal adult child, and the child's sibling, six to nine months after the death of an elderly father. To our knowledge, this will be the first qualitative study of adult children and parent (family) dynamics subsequent to the death of a first elderly parent. The focus of the study is on the cultural meaning and the processes of bereavement in families. A sample of 40 adult children (divided in half by gender) will serve as an entry point to the family. They will be recruited from newspaper death notices. We will also recruit the surviving widow and one sibling, if available. We will interview 2 or 3 persons in each family set , depending on eligibility and willingness of the widow and the sibling. In two qualitative, reflexive interviews, each family member will be interviewed about the impact of the death on themselves as well as its impact on other family members. Interviews will be transcribed and analysis will be aided by the use of Atlas.ti, as an indexing and analysis program. Analytical topics, themes and typologies will be developed from close coding of the material and from on-going, substantive research team discussions. The research will have important implications for the study of later life in understanding the impact of bereavement on the family, and for mental health and physical health professionals who provide care and support for individuals and families.