The impact of the death of a child on the parent's marriage: a case study of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and the parent's marital relationship

摘要

The death of a child is a devastating psychologicaludevent for the child's parents. The purpose of this study wasudto explore the impact of the death of a child on theudparent's marital relationship. Sudden Infant Death Syndromeud(SIDS) is the leading cause of death among infants in theudUnited States. The population studied were parents whoseudchild died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.ududThe theoretical frameworks used for this study wereudfamily systems theory and phenomenology. Family systems isuda theoretical concept that views the family as a group ofudinterrelated parts.ud Phenomenology values the subject's intrapersonal world. Consequently, the phenomenologicaludapproach to understanding marriage and family life seeks toudelicit the participant's personal view of their experience.ududTen couples whose children died from SIDS wereudinterviewed in a moderately scheduled format. Each coupleudwas asked several open ended questions that focused on theudfollowing six areas: 1) The changes in maritaludsatisfaction; 2) The similar or different grief reactions ofudthe spouses; 3) The need for emotional support from eachudother or others; 4) Actual support received from others forudthe couple and individuals; 5) The effect of previous lossesudon the couple's current grief experience; and, 6) The effectudon the relationship of similar or dissimilar religious orudspiritual views of the spouses concerning the child's death.udThe conclusions based on the data generated from theudstudy indicate that marriage therapists should understandudthe following six dynamics when working with bereavedudcouples: 1) The couple's relationship may go throughudvarious stages relative to their level of maritaludsatisfaction; 2) Grieving spouses will typically haveuddissimilar styles of grieving; 3) Couples who grieve mayudneed the freedom to not lean on each other for support;ud4) Grieving couples may not find adequate support from theirudfriends, family, and community; 5) Previous losses mayudaffect the couple's current grief over the death of theirudchild; and, 6) Couples need the opportunity to explore theirududreligious and spiritual beliefs concerning their child'suddeath.