The continuing process of parental grief.

The death of a child is an incomprehensible and devastating loss. Grief for parents is lifelong, becoming the connection between parent and child. To extend and deepen current understanding of parental grief, a new survey instrument was developed, combining quantitative and qualitative measures.

Exploring parental grief: combining quantitative and qualitative measures.

Purpose: This study explores parental grief on the death of a child of any age.

Study Design: The sampling frame for the study consisted of 74 respondents reporting that they experienced the death of a living child. With the exception of standard demographic measures, the quantitative and qualitative items in the instrument were designed specifically for this project.