A portrait of self-reported health and distress in parents whose child died of cancer
Article [Accepted Manuscript]
Abstract(s)
Grieving a child following cancer is a substantially difficult task. The objectives of this
research were: 1) to describe current quality of life (QoL), psychological distress and
symptoms of grief of bereaved parents, and 2) to explore the role of possible contributors
of QoL and psychological distress. Forty-six parents (32 mothers) of children who died of
cancer were surveyed on their QoL, distress, and complicated grief. Data were analyzed
using multiple linear regression. Parents had a high frequency of grieving symptoms
(58%). Mothers reported more retrospective grief symptoms than fathers when describing
the year after child death. Current lower mental well-being was associated with
experiencing higher retrospective grief symptoms, a shorter period since child death, and
being a father. Hence, parents experienced disturbances even long after child death.
Mothers and fathers may present specificities that should be considered when developing
supportive activities for this vulnerable population.
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