Bereavement stressors and psychosocial well-being of young adults following the loss of a parent – A cross-sectional survey
(2018) In European Journal of Oncology Nursing 35. p.33-38- Abstract
Purpose: The knowledge about young adults who have lost a parent to cancer is limited, and to reach a broader understanding about this group, this study used the Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement (Stroebe and Schut, 1999) as a theoretical framework. The purpose of this study was to describe loss- and restoration-oriented bereavement stressors and psychosocial wellbeing of young adults following the loss of a parent to cancer. Method: This survey used baseline data from a longitudinal study. Young adults, aged 16–28 years, who lost a parent to cancer more than two months earlier and agreed to participate in support groups held at three palliative care services in Sweden, responded to a comprehensive theory-based... (More)
Purpose: The knowledge about young adults who have lost a parent to cancer is limited, and to reach a broader understanding about this group, this study used the Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement (Stroebe and Schut, 1999) as a theoretical framework. The purpose of this study was to describe loss- and restoration-oriented bereavement stressors and psychosocial wellbeing of young adults following the loss of a parent to cancer. Method: This survey used baseline data from a longitudinal study. Young adults, aged 16–28 years, who lost a parent to cancer more than two months earlier and agreed to participate in support groups held at three palliative care services in Sweden, responded to a comprehensive theory-based study-specific questionnaire. Results: Altogether, 77 young adults (64 women and 13 men) answered the questionnaire an average of five-to-eight months after the loss. Twenty percent (n = 15) had not been aware of their parent's impending death at all or only knew a few hours before the death, and 65% (n = 50) did not expect the death when it occurred. The young adults reported low self-esteem (n = 58, 76%), mild to severe anxiety (n = 55, 74%), mild to severe depression (n = 23, 31%) and low life satisfaction. Conclusion: Young adults reported overall poor psychosocial wellbeing following bereavement. The unexpectedness and unawareness of the parent's imminent death, i.e., loss-oriented bereavement stressors, might influence psychosocial wellbeing. Despite these reports, restoration-oriented stressors, such as support from family and friends, helped them to cope with the loss.
(Less)
- author
- Lundberg, Tina ; Forinder, Ulla ; Olsson, Mariann ; Fürst, Carl Johan LU ; Årestedt, Kristofer and Alvariza, Anette
- organization
- publishing date
- 2018-08-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Bereavement, Cancer, Palliative care, Parental death, Psychosocial, Young adult
- in
- European Journal of Oncology Nursing
- volume
- 35
- pages
- 6 pages
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85047055134
- pmid:30057081
- ISSN
- 1462-3889
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.ejon.2018.05.004
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 43250bf6-d6e5-453d-8aec-7c58c2a99e0d
- date added to LUP
- 2018-05-29 13:32:30
- date last changed
- 2024-07-23 18:04:26
@article{43250bf6-d6e5-453d-8aec-7c58c2a99e0d, abstract = {{<p>Purpose: The knowledge about young adults who have lost a parent to cancer is limited, and to reach a broader understanding about this group, this study used the Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement (Stroebe and Schut, 1999) as a theoretical framework. The purpose of this study was to describe loss- and restoration-oriented bereavement stressors and psychosocial wellbeing of young adults following the loss of a parent to cancer. Method: This survey used baseline data from a longitudinal study. Young adults, aged 16–28 years, who lost a parent to cancer more than two months earlier and agreed to participate in support groups held at three palliative care services in Sweden, responded to a comprehensive theory-based study-specific questionnaire. Results: Altogether, 77 young adults (64 women and 13 men) answered the questionnaire an average of five-to-eight months after the loss. Twenty percent (n = 15) had not been aware of their parent's impending death at all or only knew a few hours before the death, and 65% (n = 50) did not expect the death when it occurred. The young adults reported low self-esteem (n = 58, 76%), mild to severe anxiety (n = 55, 74%), mild to severe depression (n = 23, 31%) and low life satisfaction. Conclusion: Young adults reported overall poor psychosocial wellbeing following bereavement. The unexpectedness and unawareness of the parent's imminent death, i.e., loss-oriented bereavement stressors, might influence psychosocial wellbeing. Despite these reports, restoration-oriented stressors, such as support from family and friends, helped them to cope with the loss.</p>}}, author = {{Lundberg, Tina and Forinder, Ulla and Olsson, Mariann and Fürst, Carl Johan and Årestedt, Kristofer and Alvariza, Anette}}, issn = {{1462-3889}}, keywords = {{Bereavement; Cancer; Palliative care; Parental death; Psychosocial; Young adult}}, language = {{eng}}, month = {{08}}, pages = {{33--38}}, publisher = {{Elsevier}}, series = {{European Journal of Oncology Nursing}}, title = {{Bereavement stressors and psychosocial well-being of young adults following the loss of a parent – A cross-sectional survey}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejon.2018.05.004}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.ejon.2018.05.004}}, volume = {{35}}, year = {{2018}}, }