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Psychosocial Well-Being of Young People Who Participated in a Support Group Following the Loss of a Parent to Cancer

Olsson, Mariann ; Lundberg, Tina ; Fürst, Carl Johan LU ; Öhlén, Joakim and Forinder, Ulla (2017) In Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care 13(1). p.44-60
Abstract

Despite the evidence of unmet support needs among young people who have lost a parent to cancer, only a few support group initiatives have been reported. This observational prospective study explored the psychosocial well-being of young people who participated in support groups at a Swedish specialist palliative care setting. On three occasions, 29 participants, aged 16–28 years, answered questionnaires covering characteristics of the participants, circumstances of the losses, psychosocial well-being of the young people, and their own assessment of the support groups. The support groups attracted mostly young women who were often unprepared for the loss. The living arrangements differed between younger and older participants; however,... (More)

Despite the evidence of unmet support needs among young people who have lost a parent to cancer, only a few support group initiatives have been reported. This observational prospective study explored the psychosocial well-being of young people who participated in support groups at a Swedish specialist palliative care setting. On three occasions, 29 participants, aged 16–28 years, answered questionnaires covering characteristics of the participants, circumstances of the losses, psychosocial well-being of the young people, and their own assessment of the support groups. The support groups attracted mostly young women who were often unprepared for the loss. The living arrangements differed between younger and older participants; however, the loss-related variables did not differ. Significant positive changes were found regarding a sense of meaning in their future life and life satisfaction. The helpfulness of the group was assessed as high/very high and the group brought a valuable fellowship with others in a similar situation. Universality and beneficial interactions were reported and strengthened psychosocial well-being developed over time. This change, according to the young people themselves, may be attributed to the group support. The findings are useful for planning interventions to support young people in bereavement in order to enhance their psychosocial well-being.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Adolescents, bereavement, psychosocial well-being, support groups, young adults
in
Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care
volume
13
issue
1
pages
17 pages
publisher
Routledge
external identifiers
  • scopus:85011290945
  • pmid:28140778
  • wos:000396610200011
ISSN
1552-4256
DOI
10.1080/15524256.2016.1261755
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
73e28d64-d999-497e-9db3-f6373c3b37ee
date added to LUP
2017-02-14 12:58:33
date last changed
2024-03-17 07:48:41
@article{73e28d64-d999-497e-9db3-f6373c3b37ee,
  abstract     = {{<p>Despite the evidence of unmet support needs among young people who have lost a parent to cancer, only a few support group initiatives have been reported. This observational prospective study explored the psychosocial well-being of young people who participated in support groups at a Swedish specialist palliative care setting. On three occasions, 29 participants, aged 16–28 years, answered questionnaires covering characteristics of the participants, circumstances of the losses, psychosocial well-being of the young people, and their own assessment of the support groups. The support groups attracted mostly young women who were often unprepared for the loss. The living arrangements differed between younger and older participants; however, the loss-related variables did not differ. Significant positive changes were found regarding a sense of meaning in their future life and life satisfaction. The helpfulness of the group was assessed as high/very high and the group brought a valuable fellowship with others in a similar situation. Universality and beneficial interactions were reported and strengthened psychosocial well-being developed over time. This change, according to the young people themselves, may be attributed to the group support. The findings are useful for planning interventions to support young people in bereavement in order to enhance their psychosocial well-being.</p>}},
  author       = {{Olsson, Mariann and Lundberg, Tina and Fürst, Carl Johan and Öhlén, Joakim and Forinder, Ulla}},
  issn         = {{1552-4256}},
  keywords     = {{Adolescents; bereavement; psychosocial well-being; support groups; young adults}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{44--60}},
  publisher    = {{Routledge}},
  series       = {{Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care}},
  title        = {{Psychosocial Well-Being of Young People Who Participated in a Support Group Following the Loss of a Parent to Cancer}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15524256.2016.1261755}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/15524256.2016.1261755}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}